Airbats 88
by KnighteWolfe
Summary: Asranian Foreign Legion Base Area 88, meet the 801st Tactical Training Squadron, The Airbats!, the zaniest group of pilots to ever grasp a HOTAS!     This is somethings F-14 Tomcat Lover and myself came up with. Enjoy.
1. Desert 'Bats'

_Here's a little something to tide y'all over__ until the next chapters of 'Return of the Razgriz',_

'_Promises in Snow and Ice', 'Konoha Transporters', and 'Agents and Operatives' are finished, beta-ed, and posted for your enjoyment. I give much thanks to F-14 Tomcat Lover for writing the first half of this chapter to kick my imagination in to Zone 5 Afterburners. Thanks Again, mi Amigo. _

_**Disclaimer:**__ Area 88 and its related characters are the property of Kaoru Shintani, Media Factory, and TV Asahi. 801 TTS Airbats and its related characters are the property of Toshimitsu Shimizu, Tokuma Shoten, and JVC. I'm just borrowing them for a little while._

_Knightewolfe Designs and F-14 Tomcat Lover Productions present:_

_**Airbats 88.**_

_**Chapter One: Desert 'Bats'**_

_In a hidden room in an unmarked building, sev__eral men and women were meeting in secret. This group of people came from many different walks, but they all had two things in common; they were all special agents with dozens of years of combined experience in the secretive world of black operations that had joined them together to see if they could do what the politicians couldn't. The second thing that brought them together was that they hated criminals with a vengeance._

One wasn't a spy for long unless they had seen the horrors of the underworld and worked in it to survive.

This small cadre of men and women had pooled their resources to create an independent and very skilled intelligence organization-a sixth column of shared intelligence assets if you will-that tracked dangerous criminals causing wars and conflicts around the world. Nearly all the major criminal groups had some connection to a far off conflict. These criminals were at the top of the list for elimination or arrest (preferably elimination). The cadre felt that when they were free of the government red tape they could succeed... and, to a large extent, they did.

Their personal mandate made it clear: _**interference only as a last result!**_Otherwise they only alerted governments and watched how things played out. Of course they sometimes did go into the field; as the body count at a compound along the Afghan-Pakistani Border could attest to. They didn't find their target, but the ISAF Forces in Afghanistan made good use of the intelligence they'd recovered. As did the CIA with a few drone attacks here and there. That was one of the extremely few missions where they had to deploy their own assets; fortunately they were good enough to rarely need to do that. Such missions were still counted on one hand after all, and only because of all of the fingers.

The current agenda had an aging Japan Air Self Defense Force general-one of the few people in the world to know of the group and that was only because he had a friend among them-requesting their assistance.

"So the general wants us to protect the fiancé of a friends daughter.", one man spoke, his tone even except for barely legible Newark-New York accent.

"It appears that way comrade, but what is happening falls within our group's mandate.", a Russian woman stated.

"Agreed.", a tough sounding man carrying the solid sound of a Mid-Western United States twang commented as he inhaled from his cigarette

"So much to be done but this young man that the general proposed…", trailed off. a female voice with a softly lilting French accent

"I would like to say otherwise, but the young man studied the F-16A Falcon and what he learned, he applied to the JASDF's Kawasaki T-4 trainers used by his squadron,.", the general's friend spoke up in an Osaka accent clear as day.

"We should go for it.", a Teutonic voice said, carrying a hint of Bavaria within.

"Can the Japanese arrange this?", queried another woman who, to the untrained ear, sounded either Spanish, Mexican, or Portuguese.

"We can!", exclaimed the firm voice of a Japanese noblewoman

"Well then, let's roll with it!", came the voice of the tough American.

As Shinn Kazama chased a MiG-21 Fishbed across the sky he glanced over at his new wingman, a former Japanese Air Self Defense Force group commander on secret loan to the Asranian Foreign Legion. The guy was keeping up, if barely. However, if the rumors were correct, his job wasn't just to stick to Shinn's wing or tail; but to prevent the enemy from doing the same with catastrophic results. Shinn turned back as the MiG pilot in his gunsight made a fatal mistake by trying to turn hard to port. Shinn pumped a short burst from his pair of twin M39 20mm cannons into the wildly maneuvering Fishbed; snapping off his enemy's port wing when the plane was stitched from nose to tail. In addition, the mortal damage caused the whole rear fuselage to break off.

The MiG pilot did the smart thing and punched out of his fatally wounded fighter to float silently to the ground on silken wings, contemplating his gargantuan error in judgment in thinking he could beat the legendary _'Flaming Unicorn'_in a dogfight.

Out of the corner of his eye, Shinn saw his wingman break from formation as two Fishbed-Js started their 23mm cannon gun run where the two had previously been. The Ace of Area 88 watched the former military pilot chop his Fighting Falcons' power and swing the nose around in a tight, gut wrenching turn to pour an eight second burst of 20mm fire into the first plane and get a third plane that had been sneaking up on his friend Greg.

As he watched, another Falcon pounced on the second Fishbed-J and loosed a Sidewinder right into the pilot's face. Shinn had to admit that the F-16C Block 50 was a very good fighter. He could see why people called it the Viper as well. He also now knew why Greg and some of the other Skyhawk drivers had decided to trade in their old A-4's for the F-16E configuration in the newer plane. It was expensive and hard to get parts for sometimes, but from the looks of it, it was well worth the money. The new fighters were making his F-5E Tiger II look like it was standing still.

Shinn had been trying to save up for a new winged steed but as it stood now, he knew that if this kept up, he was going to go through another plane. While contemplating his present conundrum, the reluctant ace saw one of the other Japanese pilots engage two Fishbeds and a MiG-23 Flogger J; a truly insane move for most pilots (keyword: most.) in the type of aircraft she was flying. Shin saw the Tiger II pilot dance her bird through the enemies' missiles and quickly snap off a burst from her own pair of M39's that caused one of the Fishbeds to catch fire and roll into the other before cutting loose a Sidewinder into the Flogger as she  
>passed the panicky rebel pilot.<p>

_**"Three planes in a single pass, not too shabby."**__, thought Shin_ _as the air battle began to wrap up with, the rebels once again running with their tails between their legs like whipped curs.  
><em>

Shin noted that the four female Japanese pilots were still in the air with their posse of F-5's, a surprising mix of the two F-5F Tiger II's, an F-5A Freedom Fighter, and-wonder of wonders-an F-20A Tigershark. He also noticed his wingman as he slotted himself back off Shinn's wing like an old pro at formation flying. With a few scrapes and some minor-but not too severe-cannon damage, the guy who Shin thought was a better whiner and had flown a desk for a several years, had kept up pretty well. He obviously had some training with the F-16 although at the present time he was flying a Block 20 configuration of the older A-variant Falcon.

"Finally,… we have aces again.", Shinn heard his wingman mumble over the radio,

Shinn figured the man was a serious and proud member of the JASDF and having taken to the air to do battle, he would be proud to have finally become an ace for his nation, but...

"Kengamine, don't-", started Shin before he was cut off.

"I know Kazama, I know. Nonetheless, it feels good for Japan to have full-fledged fighter aces again even though it won't be on our records.", interrupted former JASDF Group Commander Kouji Kengamine.

"Give it up Shin; you'll never understand the pride we military types feel at moments like this. It's something you've just got to experience to understand from start to finish.", chuckled Mickey Simon, the blonde American piloting the justifiably feared F-14 Tomcat over the frequency.

Shinn knew what that meant, but he also wondered about the five Double Echo newbie pilots. The sixth pilot was flying a late flight F-15A Eagle, unlike his companions. Before he could add a comment of his own, Shin heard the voice of the technician in the Area 88 tower.

"Double Echo to all birds; return to base. I repeat, return to base. Good work and job well done.", came the voice of the base radio operator.

"Copy that Double Echo. Zero-Zero Section is RTB at this time.", replied Shin as he watched his flight form up.

"Tango Red Section copies RTB as well, Double Echo. Hope you got the beer on ice and our money waiting.", added Mickey as he pointed at the Eagle off his starboard wing and tapped the top of his helmet.

"Tango Red, Old Man McCoy say you still owe him two grand for the last beer bash you threw. He'll be waiting to collect when you land.", commented the radio operator with a not so subtle hint of hilarity in his voice.

Shin laughed good-naturedly at his friend as he heard Mickey mutter an _'aww dammit, that greedy bastard strikes again'_over the radio before waggling his wings and turning his flock of planes towards their desert home.

Former Japan Air Self Defense Force Group Commander Kouji Kengamine listened to the banter between the Tomcat driver and the control tower back at the base for a few minutes more before lowering the volume on his number one radio to the point where he could think on his life until now and still hear any calls directed his way from either his wingmen or from the control tower technicians 'Double Echo'.

Leaning back in his ACES II ejection seat, though it already had a 30 degree recline, Kenji gazed around his 'office' at the various controls, gauges, and summary other necessities one would find in the cockpit of a high performance fighter and sighed in contentment. The cockpit of a General Dynamics F-16A block 20 Fighting Falcon was like an old friend. He had started his career as an elite pilot of the Japan Air Self Defense Force pushing F-16's and had loved those days when all he had to do was listen to his superior officers before joining his buddies on the tarmac as they headed out to 'kick the tires and light the fires' of their mighty steeds and soar off into the blue skies.

Even after the 'incident' that landed him a transfer to become the group commander of the training squadron commanded by his high school rival Mitsuru Konishi, Kengamine longed to return to his beloved Falcons. All of his schemes to either disband the squadron or get some leverage against any of the squadron members to pull a transfer were done leading up to that one goal. Even his filling in for the female member of the U.S.A.F. Flight Demonstration Team, The Thunderbirds, after she sprained her arm during their visit to Iruma Airbase where the 801st Tactical Training Squadron (unofficially known as the 'Airbats') were stationed, Kengamine longed to fly F-16's again. Sighing again, the five foot eleven inch pilot glanced out of the bubble canopy and saw the rest of his squadron mates flying in perfect formation with their flight leads.

Over there at his three o'clock was former First Sergeant Sakura Saginomiya; second in command of the aerial half of the Airbats. Standing a willowy five feet, nine inches tall and a beauty in every sense of the word, First Sergeant Saginomiya was the lead pilot of the Airbats Flight Demonstration Team and expert pilot in her own right. Though she loved to gamble and often terrorized their squadron mates with her incessant attempts to drag them all out for karaoke (she had a beautiful voice, admitted Kouji), Sakura knew how to fly as was shown by the way she kept her F-20A Tigershark (a damned hard plane to control from what Kengamine had heard from his different sources back in the days he was a junior Falcon driver) sitting just off the wing of the AV-8B Super Harrier piloted by the young pilot Kim Aba with nary a bobble.

Looking up, Kouji observed the F-5F Tiger II piloted by former Sergeant First Class Arisa Mitaka, the more aggressive of the two Kawasaki T-4 .trainer aircraft pilots of the 801st Squadron. Five foot, six inches of sheer aggressiveness packed into a petite frame covered in dusky skin so smooth, in the back of his mind Kouji often wondered how in the hell Mitaka kept it that way. Seeing the way she patrolled above the souped-up A-4N Skyhawks and A-7E Corsair II attack aircraft in a shark-like manner, Kengamine chuckled to himself.

_**"Her flying style reflects her attitude and personality. She's no dainty wallflower; she's a fighter pilot through and through. Her aggressive style compliments the passive-aggressive style of her wingman/best friend/worst rival, Sergeant Haneda.", **__thought Kouji as he followed the Tiger II of his flight lead through a turn to the right to set up for their final approach._

Indeed, former Sergeant First Class Miyuki Haneda was what one (who did not know her well) would consider a proper woman. Soft-spoken and extremely well-mannered, among the rest of the 801st the five foot six and a half inch Haneda was considered somewhat of a goody two shoes. She was always polite (except for one time but that is another story), friendly, and kind. Haneda was also one helluva fighter pilot, often pushing her T-4 to the edge and beyond in order to get one up on Mitaka, who always rose to the challenge and pushed the limits even further. During the recent dogfight, Kouji had seen Haneda wax three MiGs in a single pass; two Fishbeds and a Flogger.

_**"That would have been a suicidal move for 95.5% of pilots in a Tiger II, however she pulled it off with a graceful flair and élan that few share. I guess some of Mitaka's overly aggressive tendencies have rubbed off on Haneda since we've been here.", **__mused Kouji as he shifted his gaze to the F-5A Freedom Fighter flown by the youngest member of his former squadron._

Short with a fiery temper, a voracious-but little tolerance-appetite for booze, and an annoying pet bat; pink-haired former Staff Sergeant Yoko Shimorenjaku was often times mistaken for a little child. Her personality and small fits of immaturity and child-like behavior sometimes aided in and in some cases enhanced this mistaken perception most people had upon meeting the 'package of unstable dynamite' that Shimorenjaku is. Though Yoko wasn't that good of a pilot at first (Kouji often times remarked that she was the kind of pilot who got her license out of a cereal box), her time with her friends and squadron mates at this solitary airbase had-to a degree-helped out her skills (and more importantly, her confidence). In addition to helping out the young pilot, the desert had had an unexpected, but not wholly unappreciated, influence on the young woman. Shimorenjaku, who used to stand about five feet one inch (in the uniform heels) had rapidly grown four and a half more inches and had filled out a bit during their time here. Though she wouldn't be a classical beauty like Haneda and Mitaka for another few years and Kengamine doubted that Yoko would ever grow into an enigmatic and ethereal beauty that Saginomiya was, the sweet and innocent little girl from back home was growing into a beauty of her own (one that the more traditional side of Kouji felt as if it had to protect from the harsh world of relationships between men and women).

Kouji was brought out of his musings when he heard his callsign broadcast of the radio. Increasing the volume to normal levels, he waited for the call to be rebroadcast. When it was, he recognized the deep baritone of his former squadron commander and answered.

"Go ahead Alpha Bravo, you have Bravo Six One.", replied Kouji.

"Hey Kouji, are you asleep over there? Wake up, you're ten seconds away from overshooting the base, ya moron! What's wrong did that dogfight scare ya?", came the teasing voice of former J.A.S.D.F. Captain Mitsuru Konishi.

Kengamine glared through his tinted visor at the late-flight F-15A Eagle sitting off the right wing of Mickey Simon's F-14 Tomcat at his high school, flight school, and career rival. Even away from home, the teasing from Konishi continued. Gritting his teeth in a burst of anger, Kouji answered.

"I'm fine over here you muscle-bound, weightlifting addicted pitiful excuse for a pilot! I've always had a better situational awareness than you. Especially in the field of winning the fairer sex!", snapped Kengamine as he banked his Falcon in preparation for landing.

"Aww, I'm hurt Kouji! You know me, I gotta spread my love around to all the women of the world!".

Kouji laughed to himself as he heard the faux hurt in Konishi's voice. If it was one thing about the gregarious six foot three inch tall, well-muscled and bearded former commanding officer of the 801st Tactical Training Squadron 'Airbats', he respected about Captain Konishi, it was the fact that nothing ever got him down.

_** "Even if he still doesn't know that Saginomiya loves his oa**__**fish self with all of his glaring faults! It's frustrating; he loves her and is more than willing to let her go instead of confessing. I know that back at home there were all the rules and regulations about fraternization between officers and enlisted, but here the rules don't apply. We're no longer in the military; we're mercenaries fighting for a paycheck. This is the perfect arena for such a relationship. You know what, ahhh screw it. It's none of my damn business to butt into other peoples love lives when I don't have one of my own.",**__ thought Kouji as his Falcon followed the Tiger II of his flight lead to the tarmac where the head mechanic Gustav and his ground crewmen waited for the gaggle of planes to return. _

As he brought his fighter to a stop at the direction of the ground crew, Kengamine ran though his checklists in his usual meticulous manner. Checking his gauges and instruments while making notations on his kneeboard, he pulled his throttle around the fuel shutoff and shut down his engine. While changing over from his auxiliary power unit (APU) to the provided ground power unit (GPU), out of the corner of his eye, Kouji saw his cockpit canopy rise and felt the slight shudder as the boarding ladder was placed against his fuselage. Glancing over at the grinning face of the boyishly handsome ground crewman, Kouji saw the last member of his former squadron: Airman Takuya Isurugi.

The extremely capable mechanic greeted Kouji and helped him unstrap from his aircraft. Disconnecting his oxygen mask from the Falcon's oxygen system, Kouji took off his helmet and shook his sweat-drenched hair before handing the helmet to Isurugi and rising from his safed ejection seat. Stretching his arms above his head, Kouji lifted his left leg over the canopy rail and placed it on the ladder. Following this with his right leg, Kouji glanced down to where Isurugi waited at the bottom of the ladder. Taking his time and climbing to the ground, the pilot accepted the helmet as it was handed back to him.

"How'd she handle Commander Kengamine? Did the work I do help you in anyway?", bubbled the enthusiastic mechanic.

Kouji smothered a laugh, from the glazed look of exuberance on the kid's face, he could see that Isurugi was in his element and was enjoying his time here with all of the different kinds of planes he got to work on.

Looking over Isurugi's head, Kouji could see the determined approaches of rivals Haneda and Mitaka. Like the other members of the Airbats, Kengamine knew that the five foot seven inch tall mechanic was caught in love triangle between Arisa and Miyuki. He chuckled again as he remembered the actions of the clumsy mechanic when he joined the 801st. Somehow the lucky brat had stumbled upon both women in various stages of undress. Yet with all that he'd endured, the kid still managed to brighten the lives of the squadron. Though he were loathe to admit it to the kid, one of the things that Kengamine looked forward to everyday (when he was deep in the midst of his plotting) was finding out what kind of trouble Isurugi had gotten into with both Miyuki and Arisa.

"I guess his statement that one would be his wife and the other would be his mistress from way back when ignited the rivalry between the two even more. Lucky kid.", murmured Kouji to himself.

"Did you say something commander?", asked Takuya as he studied the notes Kouji had written down on his notepad and passed to him after climbing down the ladder.

"Nah, kid; I didn't say anything. And what have both Konishi and I have told you: while we're here, there's no such thing as rank. Call me by my name. Now when we return to Japan, you do that and I'll have you up on charges so fast, your head will spin.", joked Kouji as he watched Arisa and Miyuki continue their approach towards their oblivious prey.

Reassuring the young mechanic with a grin after he snapped his head up with such force that Kouji was sure he'd seriously hurt it, Kengamine patted the young man on the back before heading towards the mission room for debriefing. Up ahead, he spotted Konishi, Saginomiya, and Shimorenjaku heading the same way.

Unknown to the pilot, Kouji Kengamine was under observation from three people in two different locations.

Behind him stood the Area 88 top of the roster pilot, Shin Kazama. Next to Shin stood his friend and Area 88's number 2 pilot, Mickey Simon. After landing their respective airplanes and completing their post flight checks, Mickey had sought Shin out to get his opinion on the nuggets. Mickey had been impressed with the shades wearing and bearded Mitsuru Konishi and his skills in the Eagle. The pilot had performed his duties to the expectations of the Area 88 veterans and then some. Mickey wasn't usually impressed by new guys but this new guy had skills and could back them up.

"So, Shin, how did your new wingman handle himself?", asked Mickey.

"He acquitted himself in a manner befitting an Area 88 mercenary; nailed at least three enemies that I know of, including a Fishbed that had snuck up on Greg that he'd missed. He'll do as a replacement for those we've lost. What about the Eagle pilot?", returned Shin as he watched the two new female pilots grabbed an arm of the new mechanic Gustav had been gushing about since his arrival several months ago. Tuning back in to what Mickey was saying, Shin caught the end of his friends' response.

"I'm not usually impressed with the cocky guys we've gotten in the past but I am impressed with this guy. He's not cocky. He knows the Eagle and how to use it effectively in combat. Either he's flown the F-15 in combat before or he studied at Nellis Air Force Base during Red Flag. My money is on the latter.", replied Mickey in an unusually serious tone of voice.

Shin nodded in agreement. He'd heard about the United States Air Force response to the Navy's Top Gun program. Mickey had been a graduate of Top Gun before he got out of the Navy. Shaking his head, Shin took off his helmet and started the long walk towards the debriefing room. The debrief of this mission was going to be a long one and Shin was not looking forward to it.

While Shin and Mickey made their way to the mission room for the debriefing, the base commander; Prince Saki Vashtarl gazed down at the base from his position on the walkway surrounding the windows of the control tower. Listening to the sounds of the desert and watching Gustav's efficient ground crews as they scurried around working on damaged planes, moving them to the revetments if the damage wasn't too bad, and towing planes more severely damaged to one of the repair hangers through his ever present sunglasses, Saki thought back to when these new group of pilots had arrived in piecemeal fashion over a month and a half.

The first to arrive had been the mechanic with a sealed letter for Commander Saki. The poor kid hadn't even known he'd had the letter until Saki had gone through his record in front of him. Waving away his stammering as unimportant, Saki had dismissed the young man and had read the letter. It was unsigned but Saki had a few suspicions about who'd sent the letter in the first place. Conversing with his aide Roundell, Saki decided to play it as if the remaining members of the squadron were just the usual new pilot fodder for the Asranian Foreign Legion.

Behind him, Saki heard the polite clearing of a throat and knew that Roundell had arrived to inform him that the pilots were waiting for him to arrive to conduct the debriefing. Shifting his gaze over to the hanger where Old Man McCoy kept his PX, Saki saw a figure in a purple flightsuit come storming out of the hanger. Though he couldn't see the pilot's face, he knew who the pissed off pilot was.

"Roundell, what is the status on a replacement aircraft for Kitori?", asked Saki.

"Right now, it's in limbo, commander. The pipeline for replacement Dassault Mirage F-1's is drying up as the countries that flew the type are transitioning to either the new Rafale, the Eurofighter Typhoon, or are placing orders for more advanced versions of the F/A-18 Hornet and F-16 Fighting Falcon. Usually that would mean a surplus of aircraft; however the UN Security Council and their organizations are watching transactions of military aircraft quite closely. Baroness Palvanov isn't happy about the delay. McCoy has offered her a discount on any other aircraft but Kitori has refused most vociferously.", came the cultured voice of the one-eyed master attack pilot.

"Hmm, I see. Tell Kitori that it would behoove her to purchase her new aircraft by the end of the day tomorrow. If she refuses, ground her and say it was by my order. That should improve Kitori's attitude substantially.", answered Saki as he turned and started walking to the door into the control tower.

In the back of the mission assignment room, Mitsuru Konishi sat with his chair leaned back against the wall. Through his ever present sunglasses, he could see how his squadron members were fitting in with the rest of the mercenaries here at Area 88. At the front of the room, he could see Arisa and Miyuki talking with a couple of pilots who'd missed the mission due to their planes being not capable of flight. Towards the middle of the room he could see where Saginomiya was trying to calm down the fuming Kitori Palvanov while Shimorenjaku looked on.

Lifting his head and shifting it to his right just a bit, Mitsuru could see the reason why his entire squadron was here under classified orders from the top. Unlike the rest of the 801st; he, Mitsuru Konishi knew the real reason for their orders. He'd been personally briefed by the general in command of their airbase in a secluded room underneath headquarters.

And it had all started with a rushed request by the new training wing commanding general for Captain Mitsuru Konishi to ferry Major General Shimizu up for an emergency meeting with General Tsukamoto of Central Command.

_Well __that brings to an end this new story I've began to help revitalize my imagination. _

_Once again, I wish to thank F-14 Tomcat Lover for writing the first half of this chapter. His excellent work jump-started my imagination after I broached this plot missile and professed that I was ignorant on how to start this story with my mind full of work I needed to do on my other stories. A few days later he sent me the rough drafts that would become the basis of this chapter and for that I believe he deserves 75% of the credit for getting the 'Airbats 88 Project' started. _

_As always, I hope you read and enjoy this new story as you have my others. Please review and let me know what you think, I would be most appreciative of any and all feedback I receive. Criticisms and critiques well be read, advice will be accepted, suggestions will be thought and acted upon if they enhance the story. _

_Flames will be fed to Shimorenjaku's pet bat before being slowly roasted by the afterburners of Mitaka's Tiger II._

_Aloha until next time my friends!_

_**Knightewolfe'**__**s Lair**_

_**4/11.**_


	2. Bodyguard Bats

_Alright you stick and throttle fans, here's the second chapter of my new story of air combat. _

_For clarity's sake, the first part of this chapter takes place 18 months before the start of the_

_previous chapter. Once again, Knightewolfe Designs and F-14 Tomcat Lover Productions _

_present:_

_**Airbats 88.**_

_**Chapter 2: Bodyguard Bats**_

**Barracks of the 801st Tactical Training Squadron; Iruma Airbase; 0233 hours**

Captain Mitsuru Konishi sighed as he dropped his duffle bag on the bed in his quarters and glanced at the clock on the nightstand.

"Shit, it's almost the three in the damn morning and we're just now getting back? If Arisa and Miyuki hadn't been arguing about whose backseat Isurugi was going to ride in, we would've returned a whole helluva lot earlier than this.", griped Konishi as he dropped his lanky, well-muscled frame on to the twin bed he called his own.

Indeed, it had been a rough flight back for the 801st Tactical Training Squadron from the grueling three month airshow schedule they had flown. Six air shows in two months had been exhausting. With the transit time between locations as one of the few times they had been given a chance to rest (not counting the several midair refuelings; most of them at night). The last show had been the toughest for Konishi's small squadron; they had opened for the Blue Impulse Flight Demonstration team on both days.

His people were tired. Their planes were tired. Hell, _**HE **_was tired. And he hadn't flown except during the times they were traveling from one show to the next. Konishi felt for his squadrons' lone mechanic, for the foreseeable future Sergeant Isurugi was gonna be pulling all-nighters working on the squadrons three very well-used-and abused-Kawasaki T-4 trainer aircraft.

_**"More like extremely well abused trainer aircraft!",**__ thought Konishi as he groaned at Isurugi's exponentially increased workload. _

Not wanting to get out of his nice comfortable rack but knowing he still had a couple of duties to tend to before finally allowing himself to close his eyes and sleep for the next several hours, Konishi climbed out of bed and made his way on stockinged-feet to his desk. Dropping unceremoniously into his chair, the exhausted squadron commander glanced at the calendar on the wall above the desk. Seeing that the squadron had nothing important scheduled for several weeks, Konishi pulled out some paperwork and gave First Sergeant Saginomiya and Staff Sergeants Haneda and Mitaka three weeks leave. Grabbing another sheet of paperwork, he temporarily assigned Sergeant Shimorenjaku to the supply division so she could stroke the supply system for the parts that Isurugi would need to give their T-4's the parts they needed for the complete engine and avionics overhaul Konishi expected. In addition, Konishi tacked on to Yoko's orders an assignment to the 809th Tactical Training Squadron as an assistant basic flight instructor to their main training staff in order for her to gain some additional flight hours and have a semblance of remedial training. Shimorenjaku was way behind the curve in her flying abilities. Luckily the 809th flew both propeller training aircraft and some of the last batch of new built and upgraded Kawasaki T-4's.

Mitsuru glanced at the clock as he yawned and was a bit surprised to see that it was nearing 0430. Had he been sitting at his desk for that long already? Shaking his head in attempt to stay awake just a bit longer, the exhausted squadron commander decided to send in one more request before going to sleep. Filling out the request as quickly and efficiently as he could considering how tired he was, Mitsuru affixed his signature to the paperwork and capped his pen. Leaving the request on his desk to take care of later on, Konishi got up and headed back to his rack.

Ms. Sandman was calling and demanding he attend to her wishes while her husband Mr. Sandman made his nightly rounds through the barracks of the Eight Hundred and First Tactical Training Squadron.

_And what guy in their right mind would deny Ms. Sandman their attentions. She was a total babe!_

Once again collapsing into his rack, Konishi closed his eyes and listened to the sounds floating through the building as the members of his squadron slept. Within seconds, his basso profundo snorts rumbled through the night to mingle in a kind of offbeat harmony with the delicate mezzo alto snores from Arisa and Miyuki, the alto breathings of Shimorenjaku, the tenor snorts of Isurugi and the mezzo soprano snores from Saginomiya.

* * *

><p>It had been twenty-five days since their return to Iruma Airbase from the grueling three month stretch of airshows that the members of the Airbats had performed in and Mitsuru was enjoying the beautiful weather in his usual way: lifting weights just outside the barracks area. Sweating freely and profusely in the sunny weather, Konishi grinned as he watched the day pass by in front of his eternally shaded eyes. In the hanger behind him Konishi could hear Takuya Isurugi continuing his overhaul of <em>'Airbat 1', <em>the T-4 flown by the first sergeant.

After getting the leave for Sakura, Arisa, and Miyuki approved by the wing commander (which had precipitated a lengthy verbal battle between Konishi and Group Commander Kengamine; overheard by Major General Shimizu as he stormed through on his weekly inspection), Konishi had bid the women to enjoy their three week vacation before turning to a very pissed off Yoko demanding to know why she couldn't go with the others. He'd explained to Yoko that he needed her to make sure the parts Isurugi were going to order weren't …redirected before the mechanic could get his hands on them. Ignoring her stamping feet and incendiary glare, Konishi had eventually persuaded Yoko to follow the orders by bribing her with as much ramen as she could eat when the others returned.

Continuing to work on his sets and reps, Konishi remembered that this day was the day he was going to have to fork out a lot of money to keep his promise to Shimorenjaku. It had been a relaxing three weeks. Still, he missed his trio of pilots and couldn't wait for them to return so they could get back to training and improving their aerobatic skills. Isurugi already had some ideas for new maneuvers to go with the improved performance of the overhauled T-4's.

Letting his mind wander to how he was going to finagle the pictures of the vacation he knew Sakura had taken of her and her wingmen at the hotsprings away from Sakura, Konishi almost missed the sound of the rapidly approaching jeep. When it registered in his subconsciousness, Konishi returned his weights to the rack and turned with a grin on his face. His smile fell when he saw that the jeep wasn't occupied by the three women he was expecting but by the one person he really didn't want to see today. Alas, Fate-that fickle bastard-and his annoying third cousin; the infamous Mr. Murphy; had other plans.

Turning his smile into a frown, Konishi waited as the jeep carrying his old rival and present superior, Kouji Kengamine, came to a sliding stop in a cloud of dust.

"Konishi, grab your flight gear and a spare G-suit. There's a Strike Eagle waiting with its engines hot and an irate general waiting for you over at headquarters. Major Genera Shimizu needs a pilot to get him up to Nyutabaru Field for a meeting with Central Division Air Commander General Tsukamoto. Presently you're the only pilot on base qualified in the Strike Eagle. Though your qualifications have lapsed, somebody recommended you to the major general and before you ask, it wasn't me. Hell, I gotta go grab a D-model Falcon and shag ass to another base to pick up Lieutenant General Shintani for the same meeting.", growled Kengamine.

It was only then that Mitsuru noticed that instead of his usual uniform, Kouji was wearing a flight suit. Shifting his gaze to the passenger seat, Konishi saw Kouji's helmet and g-suit and knew that this was serious. Calling over to Isurugi, Konishi told him to let First Sergeant Saginomiya know abut his sudden summons to fly the major general to Central Command. Turning back to where Kouji was revving the jeep's engine, Konishi spoke.

"I'll get my gear.", stated Mitsuru tersely before running inside the barracks.

Minutes later Konishi, now wearing an olive green flightsuit, was riding shotgun in the speeding jeep to where a dark grey F-15EJ Strike Eagle waited for him. As the jeep got closer, Konishi could see the ground crew scurrying around the aircraft making sure to stay out of the areas in front of engine intakes to avoid being sucked down through the intake towards the spinning engine compressor blades where certain death awaited.

As Kengamine brought the jeep to another sliding stop, Konishi hopped out and ran over to where the sergeant first class plane captain waited for him at the foot of the boarding ladder. Since he'd put his helmet on as he'd dismounted from the jeep, Konishi leaned forward to hear the non-commissioned officer give him the rundown on the aircraft. Waving off the salute and nodding while strapping himself into his G-suit, Konishi let the man finish before starting on a quick walkaround inspection of the aircraft.

Even though the sergeant had told him the plane was in good condition and ready to go, Konishi still performed his own exterior check as he quick walked around the trembling fighter. Taking great pains to avoid the spaces directly in front of the engine intakes and behind the jet blast area, Konishi finished his abridged check and gave the non-com a quick thumbs up as he scrambled up the boarding ladder and dropped himself into the front ejection seat.

Once he was strapped in and after the ejection seat safety pins had been removed, Konishi activated the intercom system and contacted his passenger to apologize for his tardiness. The general cut him off before he could get the words out.

"Let's go, General Tsukamoto is waiting. Once the canopy comes down, you're cleared to immediately taxi to the active runway and take-off. I want this aircraft to be landing at Nyutabaru Field in two hours. Is that understood, captain?", growled the angry major general.

"Yes sir. Understood sir!", Konishi replied as he checked his instruments.

All he heard in response was a grunt of acknowledgement. Konishi didn't let it faze him and turned his attention outside his cockpit to the ground crew. Seeing the master sergeant crew chief signaling that he wanted him to lock his brakes, Mitsuru lifted his boots and placed them at on the top of the rudder pedals and pressed down. Feeling the brakes engage, Konishi lifted both of his hands up with the palms facing the chief and closed them into fists. Receiving an acknowledging signal, Konishi rotated his fists 180 degrees and put them together. Extending his thumbs, he jerked the fists apart letting the sergeant know that Konishi wanted the chocks pulled. The non-commissioned officer repeated the signal to the pilot then lowered his hands and repeated the motion to the enlisted person kneeling beneath the nose of the Eagle beside the nose gear. Directly beneath Konishi and thus out of his line of sight, the corporal acknowledged the signal and yanked the set of hard rubber blocks from in front of and behind the wheels by the tough nylon rope connecting the blocks and dashed away from underneath the nose.

Konishi had been expecting the sudden sight of the corporal (who was a woman, he noticed absently) while continuing to check his instruments. Making sure that the woman was clear of his aircraft; Konishi looked out the cockpit and counted the number of ground crew to see if it matched up to the number he'd taken notice of when he first approached the idling fighter. When the mental tally matched he nodded to himself and looked at the master sergeant at the front of his bird. Tapping the floor mounted intercom switch with his left foot, Mitsuru called to his passenger.

"Clear the rails, check".

"Check, rails clear; cleared to close cockpit canopy."

"Copy that, closing canopy. Canopy coming down."

Flipping the switch that lowered the cockpit canopy, Konishi took notice of the two-seat General Dynamics F-16D Fighting Falcon that had been parked next to his McDonnell-Douglas F-15EJ Strike Eagle and saw that it was starting to move from its location and head towards the taxiway. Taking note of it and figuring that since he didn't presently have a passenger Kengamine had already completed his pre-flight and cockpit checks, Mitsuru listened to tower technicians and wished his group commander a safe flight. Noticing that his canopy had completed its travel, Konishi secured the canopy and saw that the sergeant was giving him an impatient glare. With an apologetic nod, Mitsuru gave his complete attention to the man who had the final say in whether this Eagle moved or not.

Once the sergeant saw that he had his pilots complete and undivided attention, he gave Konishi the signal to release his brakes. Getting the acknowledgement, the sergeant moved to the left side of the cockpit. Once there, he gave Konishi a look that stated he had confidence that the pilot of his aircraft would bring himself and his plane back from the mission safe, sound, and in one piece. It was the look that had been passed from crew chief to pilot since the time powered flight had begun. A look that showed the bond between those who flew and those that didn't. A look that Mitsuru always thought held an implied threat. A look that stated:

_ "Alright you airedale, college boy, throttle jockey; I'm entrusting this bird to you. You'd better bring it back to me in one piece or I'm gonna teach you a lesson in how to treat precious machinery! You got that you college boy Airedale?"_

It was a look that Mitsuru had seen passed between Isurugi and the four Airbats pilots whenever they took off for another mission whether it is in practice, training, or at an airshow.

A look of trust.

Secure in his 'office', Konishi returned the look with one of his own. Seeing that, the sergeant pointed towards the runway. Konishi slid his feet from the brakes at the top of the rudder pedals and slowly advanced the throttle. The two engines of his fighter responded and the noise from the idling engines increased. As his plane started to move, Konishi saw the sergeant standing at attention and saluting. Taking his right hand off of his control stick, he returned the gesture of respect with one of his own. The two men held their salutes a second longer than needed and dropped their salutes at the same time. Returning his right hand to the stick, Konishi activated the nose-wheel steering and directed his battle chariot to the taxiway. Switching his intercom system from 'cold-mic' to 'hot-mic', Mitsuru listened as the general ran down his own checklists in the back.

Contacting the tower, Mitsuru received confirmation that he was cleared to take-off once he turned on to the active runway. Steering on to the taxiway, Konishi saw Kengamine's Falcon exiting the taxiway and turning on to the active runway. Concentrating on the radio transmissions, Mitsuru heard as the tower gave Kouji his take-off clearance. Within seconds, the Falcon was streaking down the runway at full military power before its pilot pulled back on his stick and went airborne.

It was a beautiful sight to Mitsuru Konishi, a beautiful sight indeed.

"Eagle Three-One-Seven, Iruma Tower.", came the call from the air traffic controller.

"Three-One-Seven, go ahead tower.", responded Konishi.

"Eagle Three-One-Seven; once you enter Runway Two-Five Left, you're cleared for take-off. Winds are out of the North at eight knots. Visibility is clear. We have you direct to Nyutabaru Field at angels 23."

"Iruma Tower, Three-One-Seven copies, Two-Five Left for immediate launch, winds at 8 knots from the north, clear visibility. Tower, say ceiling?"

"Three-One-Seven, Iruma Tower received information that once you depart, it's Clear Air Visibility Unlimited all the way to Nyutabaru."

"Three-One-Seven copies, Iruma Tower.", stated Konishi as he turned his plane onto Runway Two-Five left and stopped.

Once halted, Konishi ran his flight controls through their full range of motion-control stick front, back, left to right; left and right rudder pedals in sequence-while mentally chanting the litany that accompanied that activity.

_ "Father, son, Holy ghost, Amen."_

Satisfied that his controls were in working order, Konishi secured the left side of his oxygen mask to the left side bayonet fittings of his helmet. Taking a deep breath, he secured his grip on his control stick and throttle and mentally prepared himself for the next few seconds. When he felt that everything was ready, Konishi released his brakes and advanced his throttles to maximum power without afterburners.

The dark grey bird of prey slowly started to roll down the strip of concrete; its speed increasing with every few feet traveled. Konishi kept his eyes out of the cockpit as Major General Shimizu read off their speed.

Three hundred feet into his take-off roll, Konishi moved his throttles to the left and pushed them forward, engaging his afterburners. He felt rather than heard as raw fuel was dumped into the engines combustion chamber and gave the pilot and his passenger a sustained swift kick in the pants as 20,000 pounds plus of thrust was added to the motion. The engines went from the demented howl of military power to the raging roar as the afterburners kicked in. Twenty plus feet of flames emanated from the F-15 afterburner cans and the speed increased exponentially.

Listening to the cadence as his backseat passenger barked out the speeds, Konishi waited for the call. When he heard the general call _'200 knots Vee R, Rotate' _over the intercom, Konishi pulled his control stick back and his Eagle responded. The nose of the large fighter gracefully lifted up, the nose gear rotating off the concrete with nary a hint of trouble, and the rest of the plane following the commands and soaring up into the sky like its namesake bird of prey.

Once he was airborne, Konishi slapped the switch retracting his landing gear into the up position and pulled his throttles out of 'burner. As he climbed to his assigned altitude, Konishi hit the trim switch on his HOTAS (Hands On Throttle And Stick) and trimmed up the Eagle to where he liked it. When it settled in Konishi contacted the controller and received his heading. Flipping over to the departure frequency, Konishi contacted his assigned departure controller and reported that he was airborne.

"Departure, Three-One-Seven."

"Go ahead Three-One-Seven."

"Three-One-Seven reporting wheels up at twenty-five past the hour."

"Copy that Three-One-Seven. We have you direct to Nyutabaru Field at this time. Squawk one-five-two-niner and contact Spyglass at three-five-one point six. Have a safe flight, Eagle Three-One-Seven."

"Thanks tower. Squawking 1529 and switching to 351.6; see you when we return. Eagle Three-One-Seven out.", finished Konishi before setting his IFF to the requested setting and switching to the assigned frequency.

"You're welcome Eagle Three-One-Seven. Have a safe flight. Iruma Tower Out.", replied the controller in the tower before switching his attention to another departing flight.

The two men in the Strike Eagle settled in for the duration of the flight.

* * *

><p>Two and a half hours later-they ran into a nasty headwind an hour out of Nyutabaru Field that delayed them that extra half hour-Konishi was greasing the main gear of his fighter on to the rubber-stained concrete runway at Nyutabaru Field. Easing his throttles back as he eased the nose gear on to the pavement, Konishi let the Eagle use up almost three quarters of the runway before he felt that his speed was sufficient to take one of the high-speed taxiways to the transient ramp area. Engaging his nose gear steering system, Mitsuru turned off the taxiway as he neared the ramp and eased from the asphalt of the taxiway to the concrete of the ramp. Spotting the ubiquitous 'Follow Me' jeep with its striped yellow and back sign and flashing amber lights speeding in his direction Konishi slowed up a little bit more and allowed the jeep's driver to whip the jeep around in a u-turn that demonstrated exquisite vehicle control and lead him to his parking spot in front of the headquarters of Central Division Air Command where an alert ground crew jumped into action the second Mitsuru brought his mighty steed to a gentle bobbing halt.<p>

In under a minute there was a flurry of hand signal commands passed around from the crew chief to his crew. Seconds after stopping, Konishi was acknowledging the signals being passed to him as he was running through his engine shutdown checklists and shutting down his mighty pair of Pratt and Whitney afterburning turbofan engines. As the mighty P & W's were winding down, Konishi unlocked and opened his cockpit canopy. A muffled thump sounded as the boarding ladder was placed against his cockpit to allow the general and himself egress. Finishing his checklists and inserting the red-flagged ACES II ejection seat pins into their designated locations, Konishi undid his helmet and took it off, allowing a cool breeze to flow through his sweat-slicked hair. Behind him, the captain of the 801st heard the general unassing himself from his ejection seat with the help of the technical sergeant who'd clambered up the boarding ladder once it was secured against the rear cockpit.

"Captain Konishi, how was the flight, sir?", asked another member of the ground crew.

"It was fine corporal, except for that blasted headwind. If we had not have ran into that, we would've been here earlier.", replied Mitsuru as he accepted the clipboard being handed to him.

"That's good to hear sir. We've had flag and general officers arriving and departing all day for meetings with General Tsukamoto. Captain Kengamine arrived with Lieutenant General Shintani about forty-five minutes ago and the general was whisked away the minute he debarked that aircraft.", stated the tech as he helped Mitsuru disconnect all the Koch fittings that connected him to the ejection seat along with the connectors for his G-suit and his oxygen mask and radio.

Konishi _'hmmmed'_ a bit as he read the paperwork on the clipboard before checking the correct box and initialing in the correct location stating that he had no gripes with this particular aircraft. Finishing up a few last minute things, Konishi cleaned up his cockpit before rising to his feet and preparing to clamber out of his 'office'. Once on the boarding ladder, he heard a deep rumble and witnessed as a fuel truck pulled up to his starboard wing. Feeling the ladder shake as the helpful tech slid to the ground, Konishi took a look around before climbing down and dismounting the ladder.

With his booted feet on the hot concrete, the six feet three inch well muscled captain surveyed his surroundings. Seeing that his F-15EJ was not the only one in attendance, he wondered what this meeting was all about. Spotting aircraft with tailcodes from Misawa, Gifu, Tsuiki, and Matsushima Air Bases as well as several others he didn't recognize, Mitsuru shook his head before turning around as he heard General Shimizu addressing him.

"Captain Konishi there's a car on its way to take me to report to General Tsukamoto. When you are finished here, head over to the transient operations building and fill out any reports they need you to fill out. Once that is complete, you have the time until our departure to yourself. Get something to eat, grab a nap at the transient officers' quarters, call back to Iruma, whatever floats your boat. Just be ready to go when you get the call to prep the aircraft for the return flight. Ten minutes after this meeting lets out, I want to be wheels up and heading back to Iruma. You got that captain?"

"Aye Aye sir, I understand.", replied Konishi while saluting

Major General Shimizu returned his salute before striding towards a blue sedan with tinted windows that had pulled up. As he approached the vehicle an alert orderly opened the rear door and saluted. Once the general was situated in the car, the orderly closed the door and climbed into the passenger seat. Konishi watched for a bit before heading towards the van waiting to run him over to the operations building where he planned to catch a nap after filling out his paperwork and grabbing a bite to eat.

A few hours later, Mitsuru was sacked out on one of the couches in the transient officers' lounge when a First Lieutenant wearing the blue and yellow rope of the general's aide de camp (dog robber to those in the know) shook him awake and informed him that the general was requesting his presence. Not having to ask which general; Konishi woke up and ambled over to the percolating coffee pot to fix himself a cup of the super high octane brew especially made for the transient lounge. Taking a sip once his cup was ready, Konishi indicated to the aide to lead the way. As they passed the couch where Kengamine was out cold, Mitsuru gave it a couple of hard kicks with his flight boot just to irritate the former F-16 pilot. Chuckling as Kengamine came awake sputtering like an old reciprocating engine, Konishi followed the lieutenant out the door to the waiting open-topped jeep. Climbing into the front passenger seat, Konishi motioned to the sergeant first class who was driving to get moving. The sergeant did so after cutting a glance at the frowning lieutenant clambering over the side into the back seat.

After the short ride over to the headquarters building, Konishi followed the dog-robber into the building and caught the elevator up to the floor where General Tsukamoto's office was located. Once they were on the top floor, Konishi expected for the general's aide to lead him to the general's office. Imagine his surprise when instead of making the turn in the direction of General Tsukamoto's office, the lieutenant turned the opposite way and headed for one of the secure briefing rooms. He was even more surprised when upon entering the room after having his identity verified (a million ways from Sunday), he noticed that in addition to General Tsukamoto, Lieutenant General Shintani, and Major General Shimizu there was a suited civilian sitting in one of the chairs around the metal conference table. Even though some considered him to be quite naive about some things, Mitsuru was not born yesterday. He knew that civilians were never allowed into the most secure briefing rooms unless they had some seriously high clearance level. Not the regular top secret levels of clearance but levels so far above his own that Konishi couldn't even ask the level of their clearance.

Stranding at attention in front of General Tsukamoto and the others, Konishi set his mind to figuring out what was going on. If he understood the subtle body language of the gathered senior officers correctly, something he was not going to like was about to happen. Taking a seat in the lone empty chair, the bearded pilot absently noticed that Generals Shintani and Shimizu were reading his personnel files. Before he could ruminate on that, he was addressed by the senior-most officer at the table.

"Good afternoon Captain Konishi. I appreciate your rapidity in transporting General Shimizu to this meeting as quickly as you did. I also appreciate the skill in dealing with that nasty headwind you ran into. Other than that, don't you think it was a good day to fly?", asked General Tsukamoto.

"Yes sir. Everyday is a good day to fly when ones duties allow for it, sir. I do believe you understand the vagaries of command more than I ever will, sir.", responded Konishi as his mental bullshit radar detector was respectively sounding an alert at the generals' words.

Seeing the head of the Central Division Air Command nod in agreement with a wry smile, Konishi let loose a subtle sigh. One verbal booby trap avoided, he knew there were several more to come whether he liked it or not. After a short silence, Konishi's _'friendly'_ chat with the generals continued with them asking about his squad and their abilities. Answering their questions to the best of his ability, Konishi observed the quiet civilian sitting to the right of general Tsukamoto. As he did so, Mitsuru would notice the well-dressed man with the well-trimmed salt and pepper moustache checking his watch for the time. Figuring that the quiet man was connected to intelligence, Konishi would not count him out of the conversation just yet.

This semi-jovial question and answer session went on for another twenty minutes before Konishi started to get tired of the jesting between the three generals drawing a respective chuckle from him and a laugh from the civilian who had not contributed much to the meeting except a soft comment or the occasional request asking for clarification of something or another brought up during the meeting.

As he continued listening to the senior officers' talk, Konishi realized that they seemed to be waiting for something. Paying more attention to the subject matter of the conversation and answering the questions asked of him, it became readily apparent to the captain that the generals had been speaking of items in his personnel file.

_**"They've been speaking about me the whole time! I can't friggin believe this! What the hell is going on here?",**__ raged Konishi internally while promising to be much quicker on the uptake on things. _

Shifting his attention back to the group in the room, Konishi suddenly became aware that while he'd been off on his mental monologue, the room had gotten strangely silent.

"Captain Konishi, at the present time I am slightly disappointed in your situational awareness. From your records all indications are that you are usually more aware about things than this. I do give you credit for realizing the oddity of a civilian being in this special classified information facility but after that, your usual ability to figure things out fizzled most spectacularly. I was considering you and the rest of your squadron for a mission only they can do but now I believe I've made an error in considering the 801st for this mission. I am also led to believe that the 801st is a waste of the JASDF's financial resources and must seriously consider disbanding your squadron and reassigning them to duties other than flying. Of course you do realize that if I do that, the careers of everyone in your squadron will essentially be over.", growled General Tsukamoto as he gazed at Konishi with a dangerous glint in his steely eyes.

"General Tsukamoto, I will have to respectfully disagree with you on a few points about the careers of the 801st Tactical Training Squadron. With such talented pilots as First Sergeant Sakura Saginomiya and Staff Sergeant Arisa Mitaka, it would be detrimental to the JASDF if we were to loose their abilities as pilots. I believe that if the Airbats were disestablished, Saginomiya and Mitaka would make excellent basic flight instructors. As for Staff Sergeant Miyuki Haneda, she could possibly be transferred to a staff posting somewhere else. However, I do agree with you about the careers of Captain Konishi, Group Commander Kengamine, Sergeant Yoko Shimorenjaku, and Corporal Takuya Isurugi, although I'd hate to loose the technical abilities the corporal has. Maybe he could be of much better use to one of our frontline squadrons transitioning into the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries F-2 from the F-16J model Falcons presently in use.", interjected Major General Shimizu as Lieutenant General Shintani looked on.

Letting his eyes flit back and forth as the generals bickered all the while feeling a deep heaviness in his heart, Konishi started to wonder what it would be like to be a civilian if his squadron was disbanded and he was discharged. In the back of mind, the aggressiveness that had made him a top flight fighter pilot roared at the meekness and apathy within him and demanded he '_sit up and take notice of his gawddammed surroundings!'_ .

Deciding to pay heed to his inner voice, Konishi straightened up and took notice-really took notice of those around him.

_**"Okay let's take a count here: one major general disagreeing with an irate general, one lieutenant general not taking sides, and one… **_**wait one dammed minute here!**_** What is the suit still doing here? Is he a spook? He doesn't give off that secretive vibe that all the secret squirrel-type spooks I've known in my career do. He seems, I dunno, more honest or something? Hmm, must file that away for future reference. Why is this guy smiling at me?", **__thought Konishi as his mind came to a sudden conclusion. _

"General Tsukamoto, I get the feeling that you, Lieutenant General Shintani, and Major General Shimizu are testing me and have been ever since I entered this room.", Konishi interrupted.

Before either of the senior officers could respond, the civilian spoke up first.

"General Tsukamoto, I do believe that its time to let the captain know why he is here. After taking the necessary steps to keep this as quiet as possible.", stated the soft-voiced civilian.

"President Tsugumo, I agree. Captain Konishi, sign this please.", replied the general while sliding a single sheet of paper down the table to Konishi.

When the paper came to a stop in front of him, Konishi glanced down and started to read. After three sentences of what he considered quadruple-redundant, bureaucratic nomenclature of written nonoral, JASDF legalese produced by General Tsukamoto's legal staff that gave him the start of what promised to be a headache to remember, Konishi was thoroughly confused with a capital 'C'. Before he could ask, General Shimizu summed it up for him.

"Captain Konishi, what you happened to have in front of you is 'in laymen's terms' an N.D.A. or Non-Disclosure Agreement'; or to be more precise the air self defense forces equivalent. What that means is that once you sign that sheet of paper, you cannot-and I emphasize the _not _here-repeat anything said in this room from the time you signed that document to anyone not cleared to know about this…..situation until they've been vetted and authorized to know of the information discussed here at this time. If you do, you will be arrested, court-martialed, and sent to prison for the rest of your life for whatever charges the legal judge advocate general can cook up, the least of which would more than likely be treason. Think very carefully about your actions and their consequences before you sign that paper.", stated the two-star general.

"Usually, an officer in this position would be given at least twenty-four hours to think about his decision. However, due to some circumstances we can't reveal unless you sign the document, this….situation has changed. In addition, this….situation requires the use of your entire squadron as well as your group commander. Captain Kengamine. We can not reveal much more than this: if you sign that document, you and your squadron will gain vast amounts of a certain experience in a relatively short amount of time. Experience that will go extremely far in furthering your career and Captain Kengamine's career as well as the careers of your subordinates.", added Lieutenant General Shintani.

Konishi gazed intently at the three generals trying to discern if the information General Shimizu had revealed (what little of it there was) was on the level or not. He also wondered what the civilian, identified by General Tsukamoto as a President Tsugumo had to do with this.

_** "Wait a minute, did he say President Tsugumo; Tsugumo as in the recently reinstated head of the troubled Yamato Airlines? What in **_**all hells bells **_**is going on here? Wait… wait… wait Konishi, let's think about the team first; do I not sign this and sentence my team to a continued litany of dead end assignments culminating in either a general discharge for Saginomiya, Mitaka, Haneda, Shimorenjaku, and Isurugi after a regular career with few noticing what they are capable of or do I sign this and involve my people in to something that may result in their deaths.", **__thought a troubled Konishi. _

A cleared throat intruded on Mitsuru's thoughts and he snapped his head up in the direction of the noise.

"Captain, this is a major decision on your part. I understand that you have to take into consideration the different possibilities what could happen to your people if you sign the document in front of you and what may happen if you don't. Like General Shintani stated, if I could give you a day to think on this I would. I wish I could also tell you more but, unfortunately I cannot. On that point my hands are well and truly tied and I can't break what faith that is entrusted to me without jeopardizing more than just my own lengthy career. What I can say is that in my opinion, the…..experience your people gain may possibly lead to one of them sitting in my position as Central Air Division Commander several years down the road.", stated General Tsukamoto

Konishi was gobsmaked and he was afraid his face showed it. _If he signed the dotted line for this off-the books mission, either he or one of his squadron mates could possibly sit in the__seat as Commander of the Central Air Division later on in their careers?_

Mitsuru allowed himself a moment to visualize himself as the future Central Air Division Commander. _It boggled his mind! _Continuing in that vein of thought, he pictured Group Commander Kengamine, First Sergeant Saginomiya, Staff Sergeants Mitaka and Haneda, Sergeant Shimorenjaku, and Corporal Isurugi wearing silver command pilots wings and the four stars befitting one in command of the division. Mitsuru's mind painted vivid and agreeable pictures of the possibility (though he did suffer a slight nosebleed picturing a General Saginomiya ordering him to attend to her every need as Commander, Central Air Division. The other men in the room ignored the droplets and let Konishi fantasize.)

Snapping his attention and concentration back to the present, Mitsuru blinked as he found President Tsugumo sliding a gold-inlaid and monogrammed ebony Mont Blanc Executive Elite pen down the table in his direction. While a part of him mentally shed torrents of tears at the feigned abuse of what he figured was a pen worth in excess of $200,000 American dollars, another part weighed the pros and cons of signing the important, destiny-changing document now sitting in front of him.

A third part of the consciousness that made up Japan Air Self Defense Force Captain Mitsuru Konishi, fighter pilot extraordinaire, was jumping up and down in his mind and repeatedly slamming an imagined AiM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missile on his head while screaming _**'Sign the dammed thing already, you sodding dumbass!'.**_

With the triumvirate of disparate streams of his consciousness fighting a battle, it took the better part of forty-five minutes for Konishi to make his final decision. And with a steady hand, Mitsuru Konishi reached out, delicately picked up the prohibitively expensive writing utensil and slowly uncapped it before purposely signing his name on the dotted line with a symbolic flourish his subconscious mind had picked up from somewhere in his travels as one of the elite of the JASDF. Carefully recapping the pen and handing it back to President Tsugumo, Mitsuru did a double take as Tsugumo held up his palm and politely refused the pen with a smile.

"Keep it, Captain. After all, that pen does have your name engraved on it. Besides, I think that you'll be needing that pen more than I will in the future.", responded President Tsugumo to the questioningly arched eyebrow of the captain.

"But, but, but…. I…I…I….can't accept such an expensive thing! Especially on my salary!", whined Konishi in amazement.

"_Captain Konishi, I'm about to give you an order. It would behoove you to follow it immediately! _Accept the dammed pen in the spirit it was given. Now sit down and shut up. We have a lot to go over and not a lot of time to do so.", General Tsukamoto whipcracked the length of the table at parade ground volume levels.

"Aye aye sir!", replied Mitsuru as he snapped to attention.

"Now, my dear captain; take your seat.", returned the senior general.

Mitsuru did so and for the next couple of hours, he listened attentively as the details of the mission he'd signed his unknowing squadron up were discussed in depth. At the end of the meeting Konishi felt as if he'd gotten an in-depth glimpse of the backroom maneuverings of those in charge.

And, to be quite frank; they shocked and amazed him.

As he rose from his seat as the meeting concluded, Mitsuru was approached by Mr. Tsugumo. The president of Yamato Airlines extended his hand and thanked him for his decision. Mitsuru accepted the proffered hand and shook it as if he were sealing a business deal. In a certain sense, he realized that was exactly what he had done. Saluting General Tsukamoto once more as he was dismissed, Konishi executed a parade ground about face and smartly marched out of the secured room. Behind him, General Tsukamoto turned to his old wingman from his days as a young kamikaze pilot and asked him a question.

"Lieutenant Tsugumo, why in all things aerial and dangerous did you give the captain that pen, isn't it one of your personal pens? If I remember correctly, Ryoko gave you that pen when she was about six years old during one of your birthday celebrations?', asked Tsukamoto as he remembered how shy his pink-haired goddaughter had been at that age.

"Yes captain, it is the pen my darling Ryoko gave me back then. I gave it to the honored captain as a good luck charm. I have faith that once he and his squadron will complete the mission to protect my future son-in-law and bring him back home safely. When Shin returns, I'll ask Captain Konishi to present that pen to Shin and Ryoko on their wedding day as a gift from me. Beside, that pen means too much for me to use in everyday business. I make do with the generic pens Yamato Airlines orders from Staples Office Supplies. Those pens do wondrous things when thrown at a wall in anger.", returned Tsugumo with a smile the vaunted Cheshire Cat would find mysterious.

It took a minute for General Tsukamoto to get the joke, but when he did, Lieutenant General Shintani and Major General Shimizu were treated to an extremely rare sight.

General Tsukamoto was laughing his damn fool head off.

* * *

><p>During his flight back to Iruma Air Base with General Shimizu, Konishi allowed his subconscious mind to deal with the stuff he had learned in the meeting while his conscious mind dealt with flying the plane. When he landed back at Iruma Air Base, it was nearing time for the galley to shut down for the evening. Thanking god that he'd managed to grab a bite to eat up at Nyutabaru after his meeting with the generals, Konishi wondered how his people were doing. He figured his four pilots were back from leave or their other assigned duties and would be either resting in their rooms or hanging out in the common room.<p>

After reluctantly returning the borrowed Strike Eagle to its assigned Iruma Air Base Squadron and signing the necessary paperwork (in triplicate) provided by the squadron maintenance officer that proved to the bureaucratic minions that one Captain Konishi, Mitsuru did not damage their precious aircraft in any way, shape or form during his flight, Konishi caught a lift back to the 801st barracks with an annoyingly exuberant newly promoted major who was on his way off base on a forty-eight hour pass.

Bidding the major a good night, Konishi started towards the barracks. Stopping and making a quick decision, the bearded captain changed direction and headed over towards the Airbats hanger. Entering through one of the side doors, Konishi found himself in the crew locker room. Stepping up to his rarely used locker and unlocking the combination lock (it took him three tries before he remembered the correct combination), Mitsuru changed out of his 'green bag' olive green regulation flight suit and switching it for the more familiar orange Airbats Flight Demonstration Team flightsuit that his squadron wore, Mitsuru placed the flight bag containing his helmet, oxygen mask, torso harness, and g-suit on the top shelf. Grabbing the clothes hanger hanging forlornly in the hanger, he used it to hang his operational flightsuit up in the locker before closing and relocking the locker door.

Heading out into the hanger proper, Konishi caught the scent of fresh coffee and knew that Isurugi was hard at work overhauling First Sergeant Saginomiya's Kawasaki T-4. Figuring out that Isurugi was midway through finishing up his work, Konishi was a bit surprised to see that '_Airbat 1' _was sitting to the side of the hanger gleaming in the harshly bright lights of the small hanger. The avid weightlifter was also surprised and quite impressed to see that Staff Sergeant Mitaka's '_Airbat 2' _was in the early process of being torn down for overhaul.

Stepping up to the completely overhauled T-4, Konishi ran his hands over the glistening skin and whistled. The surface had the feel of being freshly polished.

"_**That polishing job, in addition to making the aircraft look better, will also give Sakura a few extra knots of airspeed. The increase in airspeed will allow for more maneuvers requiring higher airspeeds. Knowing Isurugi, he's already taken that into account and will be coming up with more maneuvers for Sakura to perform to showcase her skills. If he does this same type of polishing job on both Mitaka and Haneda's planes, then the skills those two already have will increase."**__, thought Konishi as he slowly walked around the plane. _

Hearing a noise behind him, Mitsuru turned around and spotted Isurugi exiting the parts storage room with a box, he assumed contained parts. Seeing the overworked technical sergeant in his ubiquitous two-piece blue coveralls and worn brown tool belt, Konishi saw that by the young man's smile that he was happier than a pig wallowing in shit as he worked on the T-4's. Deciding to let Isurugi know he was there so he wouldn't be surprised, Mitsuru cleared his throat. Smothering a subtle chuckle as he watched the younger man whirl around while maintaining a secure grip on the box he was carrying, Konishi approached the mechanic.

"_Captain!_ You startled me sir, I didn't see you there.", stated the mechanic in a voice full of surprise.

"Ehh, sorry about that Isurugi, I didn't mean to scare you like that.", responded Konishi off-handedly.

"It's no problem sir; just trying to finish up some work on Sergeant Mitaka's airplane before knocking off for the night. What about you, sir?"

"Just returned from ferrying Major General Shimizu up to Nyutabaru for a meeting with Lieutenant General Shintani and General Tsukamoto and thought I drop my gear off in my locker here instead of taking it up to my room. Smelled your coffee and decided to check on you. I thought for sure you'd be asleep in a cockpit or something."

The two men shared a laugh at that before Isurugi went on to explain that he'd finished up the overhaul on Saginomiya's bird about six hours ago and figured that it needed to be washed and polished. Isurugi had called in a favor owed to him by one of his fellow mechanics and he'd grabbed a lowboy tractor and towed the T-4 over the section of the base known as the 'Bird Bath' while Takuya had played plane captain and ridden the brakes.

"Isurugi, it looks good. Has First Sergeant Saginomiya seen her plane yet?"

"No sir, not yet; the first sergeant returned with Sergeants Haneda and Mitaka four hours after you left. I informed them what was going on and they decided to grab Sergeant Shimorenjaku when she went off duty and go into town and grab a bite to eat. They returned to the barracks just as I was finishing up the work on '_Airbat_ _1_' and retired to their rooms to sleep. I haven't seen neither hide nor hair of either of them since I've been back. I guess they were too exhausted to stick around. More than likely, Shimorenjaku and Saginomiya probably tried to get Haneda and Mitaka to go gambling. Anything you need sir before I finish up for the evening and go get some sleep?", asked the young sergeant.

"Nah, I'm just gonna head to my room to work on some paperwork before going to sleep myself. One thing though, when you get further along in your overhaul of _'Airbat 2'_, take a break and make preparations to set up the hanger to accommodate a fourth Kawasaki T-4 trainer. While I was at Nyutabaru, General Shimizu informed me that the 801st will be receiving a new aircraft in time for the last two shows of the year. In the meantime, during your rest periods, I would like you to come up with new maneuvers and formations to take advantage of an additional aircraft. I already know you have a few ideas in mind for First Sergeant Saginomiya's exhibitions to take advantage of the speed increase her aircraft gained due to the polish job."

"Yes sir, I came up with a few ideas to showcase the increase in speed and abilities of the first sergeants' aircraft. It will take me awhile but I will come up with new four-plane formations.", responded Isurugi.

Konishi saw the pride in the younger man's eyes and chuckled. Back in his early days as a pilot, was he ever as exuberant to his commanding officers?

"Isurugi, two more things before leave; first off, when you wake up in the morning, prep '_Airbat 1' _for a 0800 post-maintenance check flight. I'll be taking her up for the required post-overhaul check flight. Also, before you hit the rack, I want you to slide notices under the doors of the squadron informing them of a squadron meeting once I return from the check-flight. I'll have the notices typed up and signed by the time you make it inside. They'll be in the folder on the sitting room table. Pick them up and deliver them as you head to your quarters.", stated Konishi as he adjusted his sunglasses while gazing at the three planes in the hanger.

"Aye aye sir? Anything else captain?"

"No Sergeant Isurugi. Just finish up here and get some sleep. You'll need it in the morning. G'nite Isurugi.", commented Konishi as he turned to exit the hanger.

"G'nite sir.", returned Takuya as he continued carrying the parts in his arms to his workbench.

* * *

><p>The next few months had been veritable whirlwinds, with each new month having its own advances and setbacks. With each advance, Konishi preened like the cat that got the cream as the skills of his pilots took a leap forward. With every setback, he felt lower than whale shit at the bottom of the ocean. Two months after his meeting with General Tsukamoto and President Tsugumo, Konishi was riding high as his team did their jobs airshow after airshow.<p>

Even the smarmy little prick of a colonel; Colonel Yumioka of Air Show Command (and Captain Kengamine's immediate superior) commented on the 801st on several of their performances. Stating that with the skills shown by First Sergeant Sagnomiya, and Staff Sergeants Mitaka and Haneda, he was starting to change his mind about an all female Flight Demonstration Team.

Of course into every sunny day a little rain must fall.

That rain fell on the Airbats the very next month with the expected arrival of the fourth Kawasaki T-4 and the unexpected and not so welcome arrival of Lieutenant Colonel 'Edge' Nagase, a former instructor from Flight School. The lieutenant colonel; a petite dark haired female with an enigmatic smile…..and a brutal flight training regimen for prospective pilots. According to Kouji's sources, Konishi heard that Nagase, the first female J.A.S.D.F. member to fly the F-16, had washed out more pilots during basic flight training than any five of her contemporaries combined. After finishing her assignment as Head Flight Instructor, Nagase-then a major-had been transferred to Prospective Commanding Officer School in preparation for her becoming the first commanding officer of the first squadron of brand spanking new Mitsubishi Heavy Industries F-2 Indigenous Defense Fighters, a feather in anybody's cap and a sure sign of more senior commands when Nagase reach the stratospheric rank of general officer.

Unfortunately for Konishi and his 801st (and Sergeant Yoko Shimorenjaku in particular), the lieutenant colonel was there to, as she put it '_whip the pink-haired pimple on the abscess into a proper pilot because her present skills are worse than a first day student at the flight training academy' _much to everyone's chagrin. She'd heard about the almost non-existent skills of Sergeant Shimorenjaku. And-to put it mildly-was not happy with a pilot whose lack of skills advancement basically insulted the sisterhood of female pilots the world over.

Knowing the reputation of the colonel, Mitsuru had shared a look with Kengamine and the two of them shook their heads in resignation.

_Poor Yoko, she was in for a personal hell that would last far beyond her days as an Airbat. _

After verifying the orders issued to Colonel Nagase from his superiors, Mitsuru had passed word to another mechanic in the area to summon Sergeant Shimorenjaku to his office. Returning to the office, Mitsuru found out that the lieutenant colonel had occupied his desk and was glaring at him with a gimlet eye as if daring him to make a fuss. Deciding that it would be better part of valor to acquiesce to the senior officer, Konishi made himself small (or tried to) as he stood against the wall. A cleared throat and another pointed frown that'd had fledging pilots pissing their pants had inspired Konishi to hurry over and stand beside the lieutenant colonel making herself at home behind his desk.

Yoko had entered the room shortly afterwards and found her commanding officer standing by his desk while an unknown lieutenant colonel flipped through her service record. Standing at attention and reporting to the captain in her usual way, Yoko was caught out when the lieutenant colonel slammed the file folder shut and gazed at Shimorenjaku with piercing eyes.

What followed next was the royal ass-chewing to end all royal ass-chewings. As Konishi stood there, he observed as Lieutenant Colonel Nagase proceeded to read Shimorenjaku the riot act about her flying skills. What made it more scary and humiliating was not the fact that Konishi was there bearing witness to the verbal destruction of one of his pilots, but the fact that Nagase did so without raising her voice one iota. In the end, the young bat aficionado had stoically cried silent tears until 'Edge' took mercy on the young pilot, handed her a handkerchief, and in a motherly voice suggested the sergeant go clean her pretty face. It was at that moment that Konishi remembered that even though Nagase had washed out several fledgling pilots; those she passed became pilots par excellence. He should know, he had two of them in his squadron.

_Both Staff Sergeants Arisa Mitaka and Miyuki Haneda were graduates of the intense flight training that had been nicknamed 'Nagase's Nightmare'!_

When Shimorenjaku had returned, the colonel had offered her a seat and then began to explain why she had done what she did. At the end of the explanation, Colonel Nagase had handed Shimorenjaku her new orders assigning her to the colonel for the foreseeable future and asked Yoko if she wanted to become a better pilot. Did the sergeant accept the hardship she was about to undertake?

_Of course she damn well did!_

Once the sergeant had accepted, Colonel Nagase had dismissed her and turned on Konishi. In the bluntest of terms, she told him what was going to happen.

"At night, Sergeant Shimorenjaku is an Airbat. During the day time, her ass is mine! And captain, impress upon the rest of your people that the sergeant is to not be disturbed during her time with me. Nor are they to give the sergeant any assistance whatsoever. Even if she begs and pleads for it, they are not to interfere. If they do and I find out about it, the offender will be out on their ass.", stated Lieutenant Colonel Nagase as she returned to her perusal of Sergeant Shimorenjaku's file.

"Aye aye ma'am!", responded Konishi with a salute.

"One more thing before I dismiss you captain, since I am going to be here for as long as it takes to get the sergeant into flying shape, I'll need my own quarters. Yours will do nicely. Have Sergeant Isurugi move your personal affects into his quarters. Until otherwise directed, the two of you will be roommates. You are dismissed captain.", returned the colonel while turning her back to Mitsuru.

Knowing he could not go against those orders if he wanted to keep his job, Konishi replied in the only way he could.

"Yes ma'am. My personal things will be removed within the hour. My quarters are yours."

* * *

><p><strong><span>Area 88 Briefing Room – Present Day<span>.**

As he continued his flight down memory lane, Konishi became aware of somebody calling him. Shaking his head as he came back to the present the bearded man gazed through his ever present sunglasses and saw his former rival looking at him with a concerned expression on his face.

"Earth to Mitsuru, hey man you there? You awake? The mission debrief is over and everyone's leaving", commented Kouji as he observed as Mitsuru's hidden eyes blinked into awareness.

"Huh, wha.. Oh Kouji it's just you. I'm fine partner, just thinking back on the road we've traveled to get here.", replied Konishi as he stretched his frame and rose from his seat.

"Yeah, I know what you mean man. I know what you mean. That's in the past, Konishi. All we can do now is look ahead and trust in our skills and the skills of those around us. Come on let's head over and grab a bite to eat, my treat this time."

Konishi nodded at his friendly rival with his usual boisterous grin and the two left the room. As he passed the door, Konishi couldn't suppress the shudder that racked his body as he remembered the day when he had to brief Kouji on some aspects (not all) of the situation. Like he first time he found out about this operation, it all started with a meeting with the generals.

This time, General Tsukamoto and Lieutenant General Shintani had flown to Iruma Air Base.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Central Air Show Command Headquarters. Iruma Airbase.<span> **

Konishi winced as he again tried to straighten the jacket of his uniform as he prepared to give the generals an update on his squadron's preparation for their secret mission even though they didn't know it.

He hated wearing the damn thing and wish he could've given the briefing in a flightsuit. But Major General Shimizu had been most explicit about his appearance for this briefing. With rumors circulating around the increased communications between Konishi, General Shimizu, and General Tsukamoto, Shimizu was worried that the word would get out and bugger up the extremely well-laid plans of General Tsukamoto and President Tsugumo thus resulting in the defense minister ordering the mission scrubbed and the individuals who knew about it reporting to new assignments with strict warnings about opening their mouths.

As he finished organizing his reports, Konishi heard the familiar roar of a pair of J79 clean air converters as affixed to an F-4J Phantom II. Taking a quick glance out the tinted window, Konishi saw the familiar hulking outlines of the venerable McDonnell-Douglas F-4 Phantom II, the terror of the skies over Southeast Asia during the Americans war in Vietnam. As he gazed at the droop-winged Mach 2+ capable plane he'd lusted to fly when he was a kid then as a cadet in flight school, Konishi appreciated the time he'd spent flying the fighter he'd nicknamed _'The Beast'_ during his first assignment to an operational squadron so many years ago.

'Take it easy Captain Konishi, this meeting is just an update for the general. He knows what your squadron has been up to. In fact, General Tsukamoto is the one who ordered Lieutenant Colonel Nagase here to improve the skills of Sergeant Shimorenjaku. Hell, Kei would've more than likely came to Iruma on her own and put your entire squadron through the hell she's presently inflicting on Shimorenjaku if Tsukamoto hadn't made it official. Kei is a brutally honest bitch but she knows her job. I remember back when she was just a lowly First Lieutenant in the squadron of F-16's I commanded. Kei was a fiery little hellion who took no bullshit from anybody. Konishi, did you know that the idea for an all female demonstration squadron first took root back then because of the advanced skills Nagase showed?", commented General Shimizu as he sat in his seat.

"No sir, I did not know that.", replied Konishi.

The general chuckled a bit before continuing.

"I figured as much. It's something that's not very well known nowadays and rarely talked about by those who knew of the idea back then. How is Sergeant Shimorenjaku holding up to this abridged version of _'Nagase's Nightmare'_?", asked the general as a way to change the subject.

Before Konishi could answer, the door to the briefing room slammed open as General Tsukamoto made his entrance like a cocky bantamweight rooster. In a more genteel manner, he was followed by General Shintani. Konishi came to attention along with General Shimizu as he took note that Tsukamoto and Shintani were wearing flightsuits instead of their usual uniforms. General Tsukamoto must have noticed Konishi's lifted eyebrow as he muttered _'at ease'_ before turning to the captain and commenting.

"Don't look so surprised Konishi. I still keep my hand in and my skills fresh in the Phantom by taking one up for a jaunt every now and then. Of course to you semi-prissy Eagle pilots, the Phantom is a real man's fighter! Speaking of fighters, General Shimizu, a pair of your Eagle and Falcon pilots wanted to play some aerial grab-ass as I flew in. Of course, I showed them the error of their ways in tangling with a fighter that is way out of their league. I want you to have orders cut sending those poor bastards up to Nyutabaru to learn from Nagase when she finishes training Shimorenjaku here. Edge is the only woman that I know of who can push a Phantom to its limits and then some. Hell, she's better than me in most respects.", returned General Tsukamoto as he stalked to the head of the table and dropped into his seat.

"Yes sir general. My aide will get the names from your aide during this meeting and I will make it so.", replied Shimizu.

"Good, now let's get this meeting underway. Captain Konishi you have the floor. Don't worry about the small prelim stuff. Just dive right in to the stuff I want to know. In four hours I have a meeting with the forces' commanding general. Old geezer owes me fifty bucks for loosing a bet we made years ago. Oh yeah, get Nagase up here immediately. She knows a little bit of the mission but I want to get her fully read in so she can use that knowledge to get Shimorenjaku up to snuff. I got an N.D.A. here with her name on it.", added General Tsukamoto as he poured himself a glass of water from the pitcher in the middle of the table.

"Aye aye sir. I'll have the lieutenant colonel summoned immediately."

Seeing the expectant look on General Tsukamoto's face, Konishi took a deep breath and started his report. He was only interrupted once when Lieutenant Colonel Nagase arrived and was given the same spiel about the secrecy of the mission he'd been given up at Nyutabaru so many months ago. Unlike him, Nagase didn't hesitate to allow the general to finish reading her in before signing the agreement placed in front of her and turning her attention to him for the rest of the briefing with a nightmarish gleam in her eyes.

Konishi shuddered to think what the already overburdened sergeant presently in Nagase's hands would be introduced to once this meeting adjourned. It promised to be…worse than what Yoko had already gone through in the month since Lieutenant Colonel Nagase's arrival.

Continuing with his report, Konishi began to go into more detail about some of the points he'd already touched on. Answering questions from those gathered as listened intently to his words, Konishi felt as if he was back in school. Finishing up another point, he stopped for a minute to take a sip from his glass of water to sooth his throat. As he replaced the glass on the lectern, General Shintani suggested they take a break so the attendants from the chow hall could bring in their lunch. Everyone agreed, closed up their copies of the files in question, and locked them in the room's safe for security. Once the safe was securely locked and the conference table was bereft of the operation's documents, Konishi excused himself so he could use the restroom.

As he walked down the hall to 'general facility' (a porcelain fixture on the wall of the men's restroom), Konishi spotted Captain Kengamine and Colonel Yumioka talking in the hallway. Hoping they wouldn't see him as he made his way to relief central, Konishi kept his mouth shut and his head down. Unfortunately, Mr. Murphy decided to intervene and ruin his day.

"Captain Konishi, if I may have a moment of your time.", came the cultured voice of Air Show Commander Colonel Yumioka

Groaning silently to himself as he heard the hint of disapproval in the colonel's voice, Konishi stopped and answered the senior officer.

"Sir, with all due respect I cannot take the time to answer any questions as I have orders superseding yours.", replied Konishi as he ignored the subtle smirk from Kengamine.

"Oh, and whose orders would supersede mine, captain?"

"Sir, I cannot reveal that information to you at this time."

Konishi stiffened as the colonel's face went stony at the refusal. Bracing himself for the reprimand that was coming, Konishi started as general Tsukamoto's voice ripped down the hallway.

"_Colonel Yumioka! The captain is following my orders! Get back to work!"_

"But sir, I am in the captain's immediate chain of command. I do believe that I should be informed of the captain's actions.", returned Yumioka respectfully.

Everyone in the hallway went silent at the colonel's words. Konishi fearfully turned his head and saw the short Central Air Division Commander storming in their direction with his two juniors behind him. Seeing the pointed glance sent his way by the general, Konishi directed his attention to the wall to the left of the colonel's head. In his position he heard General Tsukamoto ask General Shimizu if he could use his office for a minute to 'council' the colonel on what he did and did not need to know. Hearing the two pairs of footsteps as they echoed off the linoleum of the floor, Konishi waited a minute before continuing his trip to the restroom. His bladder was really screaming for attention.

Several minutes later, as he re-entered the conference room, Konishi saw the general returning with Colonel Yumioka in tow. Neither senior officer looked happy. General Tsukamoto had no expression on his aged face while the colonel looked constipated. Stepping further into the room so he wouldn't obstruct the general, Konishi made his way over to the seat where his plate awaited his attention. Remaining small as a hungry church mouse, Konishi continued his repast while his mind started to go over the points that he would cover in the second half of this meeting. When the general spoke with his contemporaries in a quiet conversation that consisted of several monosyllabic and polysyllabic words, the captain looked up. Lifting his head for a quick glance around, Konishi could see that the colonel looked quite green as he stood well back from the general officer confab with Captain Kengamine beside him. On the other hand, Lieutenant Colonel Nagase didn't spare either man a glance, preferring to continue devouring the meal in front of her. To Konishi it looked as if she'd ordered a second plate while waiting for the meeting to continue.

Finally the conversation between the generals finished and General Tsukamoto gave Colonel Yumioka a dismissive glance, ordering him to make himself quite scarce for the time being with his eyes. The colonel snapped to attention and saluted before departing the room with Kouji in tow. The pair were stopped at the door when Tsukamoto 'requested' that Captain Kengamine follow Colonel Nagase to another room. Observing the interplay with a covert smile at his rivals' discomfort as Nagase crooked a finger in Kengamine's direction and beckoned him to follow her as she exited the room wearing that insufferably enigmatic smile of hers; Konishi turned as the generals approached him and explained what had transpired.

"I just gave Yumioka his rudder orders to mind his own damn business when it comes to you and the rest of the 801st. For the foreseeable future, he'll be out of your hair and you can get back to running your squadron. As for Kengamine, since he will be on this mission as well, Nagase is giving him an extremely redacted and edited summary of what is going on. She's also getting him to sign the N.D.A. Of course, since Kengamine is a weaselly little snit, he's not getting the full details. Well not for awhile at least.", commented General Tsukamoto.

"Yes sir. I understand sir. Thank you general."

"Don't thank me yet genius! We still have a lot of ground to cover. When this meeting is finished, I'm brevetting you to the rank of major till this operation kicks off. That way, Kengamine won't bother you too much. Now hurry up and finish your meal. Once Nagase returns, we're getting back to the meeting. I want to finish up quickly, General Sakamoto is awaiting my report.", replied the general as he returned to his seat as Nagase reentered the room sans one annoying captain.

* * *

><p>In his office later that evening, Konishi waited for Kengamine to arrive so he could inform the captain of the basics of the mission he could tell him about. Sitting with his arms crossed, and with a sanitized copy of the operation's file, Konishi felt the weight of his temporary brevetting on his shoulders. Though he still wore captain's bars, for all intents and purposes until the end of this phase of the mission, he was Major Konishi.<p>

Lifting his head as the door creaked open, Konishi watched as Kouji shot him a dark look that all but confirmed that the group commander had signed the agreement given to him by Colonel Nagase. Returning the foul glare with a look of indifference Konishi gazed expressionlessly at his old friend and rival before turning his back on the officer and looking out the window.

_**"You bastard Kouji, after the ass-chewing you received today, you still come here looking for a fight. Well, I'm not going to **_**appease**_** your bruised ego this time.", **__came the poisonous thought ripping through Mitsuru's mind__**.**_

Before the group commander could get started on his spiel of invective, Konishi slid the document signed by General Tsukamoto confirming his brevet promotion to major over to his old friend. Hearing the sudden intake of breath as Kouji read it; Konishi directed his attention to the file in front of him and waited.

"Captain Kengamine reporting as ordered…..sir.", growled Kouji through clenched teeth while saluting.

Ignoring the hint of disrespect in Kouji's voice from the way he pronounced 'sir' (with a 'c' and a 'u' instead of the's' and the 'i'), Konishi returned the salute without speaking before going into his 'sanitized' version of the operation.

"Okay captain, listen up. We have a mission to perform and I'm going to inform you of what I can of the basics. Since you've already signed the limited clearance documents provided by Lieutenant Colonel Nagase, I'm going to give you an extremely little bit more of the details of the mission. You are _not_ allowed to ask any questions regarding details of the mission you are not cleared for. And you are _not _allowed to report anything you hear in this room to Colonel Yumioka. If you do, General Tsukamoto will deal with your release of that information. Is that understood captain?", snapped Konishi in an official tone of voice

"Yessir, I understand. You've made yourself quite clear major.", replied Kengamine stiffly.

Mitsuru nodded at Kouji's words before beginning to brief him on the details he was allowed to know. Though he was reading from a prepared statement, Konishi made it sound like the words he was speaking were his own. Once he finished, Konishi dismissed Kengamine with a stern warning about what would happen if he revealed anything he learned to anyone and watched as the captain exited his office. Once Kouji was gone, Konishi sighed to himself and took off his shades before pinching his nose between his thumb and forefinger to dissipate the pain he felt building up in his head.

When the burgeoning headache had dissipated to more manageable levels, Konishi got up from his desk and headed for the quarters he was presently sharing with Sergeant Isurugi. Right now he needed to get some sleep. If he was lucky, Konishi would be able to grab a few hours of precious downtime before the mechanic woke-up to start his day.

* * *

><p>It was the day of the final Airbats airshow of the season and so far things were SNAFU'ed all to hell. His pilots were scrambling around in a state of severe nervousness as they moved around the locker room putting on their flight gear. Arisa had already shouted at Miyuki about some minor thing or another. Haneda, being herself, had angrily retorted before turning on Shimorenjaku and almost making the younger girl cry. Even Isurugi had weathered a couple of severe verbal blasts from both Haneda and Mitaka when he'd stumbled into the locker room and reported that the time was approaching. Dressed in his operational flightsuit and standing next to a similarly attired Kengamine, Konishi had observed the entire exchange before exiting the locker room to allow the girls their privacy to change.<p>

The past several months had been a study in hell as he juggled his squadron duties with his duties pertaining to the mission he'd been briefed on. In the interim time, the overhauls of the squadron's planes had been completed, Shimorenjaku had finished her training with Lieutenant Colonel Nagase, Isurugi had came up with new three and four plane formations, and he'd rebuilt his skills in the Eagle as an aerial Jesse James.

All that training and preparation was for this day, the end of the first phase of 'Operation_: Bodyguard Bats'_ as General Shintani had tagged this mission (much to his chagrin and General Tsukamoto's delight).

Now standing there gazing outside the hanger at the gathered public and top brass as they watched the Blue Impulse go through their routine, Konishi could feel the excitement building up in his gut. In a few minutes, he and Kouji were going to march out to their planes, launch, and give a demonstration of air combat maneuvering tactics. Once they finished their demonstration, the two of them were going to form up (he in a borrowed Eagle and Kengamine in a borrowed Falcon) and open up for the girls as they screamed in to the area in formation and started their show.

This time; the 801st Tactical Training Squadron 'Airbats' would be the headliners; this time they would be the stars of the show.

_**This was their time to shine!  
><strong>_

* * *

><p>The show had been a great success and the members of his team were winding down with an end of the show season celebration. The various officer's, non-commissioned officers, and enlisted men's clubs had been opened and the booze was flowing generously in all three venues. In his eternal wisdom, General Tsukamoto had 'suggested' to Major General Shimizu that he declare a 'No-Fly' day for the day after the show. He knew exactly how the personnel would enjoy it.<p>

Tsukamoto had even 'coerced' a couple of the squadrons at Nyutabaru to cover for the Iruma Air Base Squadrons for twenty-four hours to allow for everyone to sober up from the base-wide party the previous day.

As for Konishi and the members of his squadron, they were the guests of honor everywhere on base they went. His girls had hit a grand slam during their airshow performance earlier that day. The Airbats had shocked and awed the gathered crowd with their amazing acrobatic displays. The overhauls of the three primary Airbats T-4 aircraft and the addition of the fourth T-4 to the formation had succeeded far beyond everybody's wildest dreams. The show and its paired recruitment drive had brought in several possible new recruits to the J.A.S.D.F.

Of those that had signed on the dotted line, a full thirty-five percent had been young women who wanted to become one of the growing sorority of female pilots in the force. The J.A.S.D.F., commander had been ecstatic at the results of the recruitment drive and had presented the members of the 801st with ribbons announcing their assistance in recruiting. It had helped that after their show, Saginomiya, Mitaka, Haneda, and Shimorenjaku had spent the rest of the afternoon with the recruiters answering questions and taking pictures with the high school and college-age young women attending the show.

Mitsuru had never seen his pilots so vibrant and beautiful as they talked to girls about their jobs and their airplanes. Standing by his Eagle and watching his four pilots, Konishi knew that it would be best if he stayed out of the spotlight and allow his pilots to take center stage. It was their time shine. They had persevered over all that had obstructed them and were now reaping the accolades and praise they deserved. His favorite memory of that day was when First Sergeant Sakura Saginomiya had signed her flight helmet and given it to a five year old girl before picking her up and allowing her to sit in the cockpit of _'Airbat 1'_ . He'd been nearby answering a question from another teenager and had heard Sakura tell the child that if she put her mind to it, she too could become an Airbat.

Now sitting in his office at the barracks, Konishi waited for his pilots to return after they'd took showers and changed out of the flight gear into their daily uniforms. In attendance were General Tsukamoto and several members of his retinue as well as Major General Shimizu and a couple of his cadre. At the back of the room, Mitsuru could see his friend and rival Kengamine sitting at one of the desks. The two were privy to the quiet ceremony about to take place when his pilots arrived.

First to arrive, as always, was First Sergeant Saginomiya. She must've intuited that something was going on because she had on her dress uniform. Entering the room, she saluted the general then made her way to Konishi's side. Next to arrive were Mitaka and Haneda. Unlike their number two, the pair of staff sergeants were attired in their everyday uniforms and were talking about their performance that day. For once, the antagonistic looks they usually cast at each other were absent from their faces as they critiqued their separate performances. The last to arrive was Sergeant Shimorenjaku with Sergeant Isurugi in tow as she discussed some work to be performed on her T-4 during the off season.

When the four became aware of the senior officers in the room, they came to attention and saluted. General Tsukamoto waved the salutes off with a smile of praise as he marveled at the energy of youth they had and remembered his time as a junior officer. Shaking his head to stave off those memories, the general congratulated the group on the work they did and began an informal debrief with the pilots as well as accepting comments from the rest of those in the room. At the end of the debrief, the general requested that Konishi and Major General Shimizu come to the front of the room. Once they had come up and stood beside him, General Tsukamoto started a short speech that hinted at what was to come.

"Staff Sergeants Arisa Mitaka and Miyuki Haneda, Sergeant Yoko Shimorenjaku front and center.", ordered the general as he finished his speech.

When the three pilots came up front, General Tsukamoto turned to his aide and extended his hand. The dog-robber acknowledged the unspoken request and reached into the briefcase sitting on the table and handed the general three felt-covered boxes. Nodding at the lieutenant in thanks before returning his attention back to the pilots standing at attention in front of him, General Tsukamoto continued with his speech.

"Staff Sergeants Mitaka and Haneda for actions above and beyond the call of duty in the trying times running up to this final show of the season, the commander of the J.A.S.D.F., hereby promote the two of you to the rank of Sergeant First Class. In addition, the commanding general hereby promotes Sergeant Shimorenjaku to the rank of Staff Sergeant, effective immediately.", stated the general as he approached each pilot and, with the assistance of Konishi and Major General Shimizu, removed the symbols of their previous ranks from their uniforms and replaced them with the insignia of their new ranks.

The room was quiet for a moment before it exploded into cheers and applause for the newly promoted pilots. General Tsukamoto shook the hands of each woman as he finished pinning the new pins of rank on to the collars of the awardees. After allowing the base Public Affairs Officer (PAO) and his photographer to take the necessary photos of him congratulating Mitaka, Haneda, and Shimorenjaku, General Tsukamoto cleared his throats and began a short speech extolling the accomplishments of the 801st since they were first founded. Ending his speech to the newly promoted pilots, General Tsukamoto commented that though the couldn't have a proper 'wetting down' party for Haneda, Mitaka, and Shimorenjaku due to circumstances beyond his control, they should be proud of their achievements and the 'wetting down' wasn't that important.

From his position standing next to Lieutenant Colonel Nagase and Kouji, Mitsuru listened as the general spoke about the past of his squadron and hinted at the bright future the squadron had. Knowing what General Tsukamoto alluded to, Konishi waited for the general to conclude his speech and pass out the envelopes holding their separate transfer orders.

All too soon, the general finished his speech and called Mitsuru and Kouji to the front of the room. Once there, Mitsuru came attention and saluted before accepting the plain envelope with his orders and stepping up to the podium. Though he knew what the orders said without opening the envelope, Konishi followed tradition and opened the envelope and slid the mimeographed form out and cleared his throat. As the room went quiet, Konishi took a deep breath and started reading his new orders. To the dismay of his pilots, at the end of the month, their friendly father-figure squadron commander was being transferred to Nyutabaru Air Field for a three month F-15 re-familiarization course

In the shock that followed, nobody paid any attention to Captain Kengamine as he read his transfer orders (but then again whoever listened to Kouji). While Captain Konishi would be prepping for the arrival of his replacement, Captain Kengamine would be turning over his office and duties to his deputy before transferring to another base for a re-familiarization course of his own.

In the end, the happiness at the result of the airshow and the promotions for three of his pilots was tempered by the fact that the 801st was losing its' CO within a month. Haneda, Mitaka, and Shimorenjaku had been quite unhappy. Miyuki and Yoko had been near tears while Arisa had to be restrained from going after the Central Air Division Commander with a chair. Only First Sergeant Saginomiya had come up to Mitsuru and offered her congratulations to him as well as to Kengamine before saluting and returning to her seat and enjoying the rest of the celebration.

Only Mitsuru had seen the shimmering of tears in her eyes that she refused to shed.

* * *

><p><strong>Area 88 Ready RoomLounge – Evening of the Present Day**

Sitting in a comfortable chair in the lounge as he watched Kengamine hustle some of the newbies at the pool table, Mitsuru thought back to those hectic days after the announcement of his transfer. The month had flown by on hypersonic wings and he soon found himself going through his change of command. With his squadron wearing their dress uniforms with all of their ribbons and awards on their chests, Konishi had turned over command of the 801st Tactical Training Squadron to a junior captain who had recently completed his retraining in the T-4 after flying Falcons for the past few years.

After the ceremony, Konishi had attended his farewell party at a local restaurant whose owner owed Saginomiya several favors after continuously losing bets to the first sergeant. At the party attended by his family, several of his friends in and out of the force, and of course his girls, Konishi had told the gathered group that though he regretted leaving the squadron, he was proud that they had accomplished what they had set out to do and proved the nay-sayers wrong. Now it was his turn to pass on the word about their achievements in a new arena. He was turning the training of the new generation of Airbats over to them to teach the newbies in ways he'd taught them.

As he finished the farewell speech to his girls, tears had started to fall from his eyes behind his ever-present sunglasses. So many had fallen that he couldn't finish his words; it had been Kengamine who'd stood up and offered a toast to his friend that had directed everyone's attention to him instead of the weeping man; a feat that Mitsuru was eternally grateful for. At the end of the party as Mitsuru was making preparations to leave, his pilots Saginomiya, Shimorenjaku, Mitaka, and Haneda had came and entwined their arms with his. Departing the restaurant with the four women on his arms had made Mitsuru feel a bit better. Yet in the back of his mind, he wondered what the four would think if they knew what he'd done.

Seeing Mickey Simon enter the lounge with Shin Kazama and Greg Gates in trail, Mitsuru waved a hand in acknowledgement. Receiving a wave in return, Konishi returned to his thoughts.

After his transfer to Nyutabaru, Konishi had been swamped with the work to get re-fammed in the Eagle. He'd stayed in contact with Kengamine (who was still at Iruma preparing for his own change of command) and from Kouji had learned that his former pilots were taking to their off-season duties with alacrity. Every so often, one of the pilots would call up to see how he was doing in his new position. Konishi enjoyed these calls. Though he was a long distance away, he was still in their lives.

Hearing Kengamine drop his frame into the seat next to him, Mitsuru turned to the lightly younger man and chuckled as he saw Kouji light a cigarette.

"Whatcha thinking about Konishi?" , asked Kengamine through a cloud of smoke.

"Nothing man, just remembering the months after my change of command and transfer to Nyutabaru Field. How much did you hustle the new guy for?", asked Mitsuru as he looked at the pilot who'd lost to Kengamine frowning in their direction.

"Bah, chintzy bastard wouldn't bet that much. Only got a couple of hundred off of him. Just enough to get old man McCoy to order a couple of new cartons of smokes for me.", griped Kouji

Mitsuru chuckled again before returning to his thoughts. He remembered that four months after his transfer to Nyutabaru and a month and a half after Kouji's own change of command, Mitsuru saw a familiar face on his squadrons' flightline as he headed out to preflight his assigned Eagle for another training mission. He knew that he had been assigned a new wingman to train that day but didn't know who it was. Of course, he'd missed the smug grin of his operations officer when he checked the flight schedule and therefore was completely surprised when he spotted a familiar dusky-skinned pilot in her green-bag flight suit standing near his Eagle.

Hurrying up to Sergeant Mitaka and accepting her salute, Konishi had asked what she was doing there. Her answer had surprised him.

"I was transferred to Nyutabaru Field to begin my training the F-15J Eagle, sir.", Arisa had answered before going on to mention that she'd been assigned as his wingman for the duration of her training.

Mitsuru had shook his head as he spotted the generals deft and finessed handiwork in this. Shaking his head again, Konishi had given Arisa the cheap preflight tour of the Eagle. During the tour, he found out that Arisa wasn't the only one who'd been transferred: First Sergeant Saginomiya had been reassigned to Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in the United States. Her rival, Sergeant First Class Miyuki Haneda had been transferred to Captain Kengamine's squadron to get some training before being assigned to Miramar Naval Air Station in the United States for F/A-18E Super Hornet transitionary training. In addition to her training, Haneda was supposed to study the Super Hornet and figure out if it would be a good addition to the fighters of the J.A.S.D.F.. Surprisingly, Staff Sergeant Yoko Shimorenjaku had volunteered for transfer to a flying position under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Nagase.

"Even Isurugi was transferred, captain. Takuya was transferred back to mechanic school as an instructor and to participate in some advanced training.", Arisa had commented as they had finished their walkaround."

Letting the memories of those days fade, Konishi thought back to a few months ago when he arrived here at Area 88; like every new arrival he'd met Commander Saki Vashtarl within minutes of dismounting from an old UH-1 Huey that had seen better days (though if his ears weren't deceiving him, the engines sounded quite new) he'd caught in the capital city of Asran and received his barracks assignment. In addition, the base commander and his number two, an older gentleman with an eye patch, a buccaneers moustache, and grey hair who exuded a calmness and charm of his own named Roundel informed Konishi on the fact that they knew the true reason he was there. Commander Saki had also stated that while he and his people were here, they were going to be treated like every other legionnaire under his command.

Three months after he arrived, Kengamine arrived and Konishi was able to give him the full briefing that he'd been denied back in Japan. At first Kouji had been a bit ticked off but after calming down a bit and looking at the situation objectively, Kengamine had done what he did best; improvised, adapted, and persevered.

Mitsuru also thought back to when Sakura and the rest of his former squadron mates had arrived. With the exception of Isurugi, Sakura, Arisa, Miyuki, and Yoko had arrived at Area 88 after he and Kengamine had been flying missions. Konishi remembered the first words he'd spoken to them as they stood in the hanger during a rebel attack after their meeting with Commander Vashtarl. He told his ladies four words:

_"Welcome to combat ladies!  
><em>

* * *

><p><em>And on that note, I end the second chapter of 'Airbats 88.". Thought I hate the fact that I had to rush through the end of it; I believe it's a good way to end this chapter. I hope y'all enjoy this as its my last post for the year 2011! For some of you, may be m first post of the New Year wherever you may be.<em>

_For those who have been keeping up with this story, once again I have to thank F-14 Tomcat Lover for giving me a hand in writing this chapter. Without his input, this chapter would be no where near finished and I'd still be working on it. Thanks again Amigo! _

_As usual, reviews are will be separated in their respective files while flames will be relegated to the round file. If you do leave a review whether positive or negative, I'll try and respond. I Wish you all a Happy New Year!_

_Knightewolfe_

_**Knightewolfe's Den**_

_**31 December 2011**_


	3. Risaal

_Don't let go of that HOTUS, Airbats Fans! Chapter 3 of Airbats 88_

_is comin' atcha in full Zone 5 burner! Tighten up that torso harness_

_cause here we go!_

_**Airbats 88**_

_**Chapter 3: Risaal**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's quick note<strong>__: I started writing this chapter before I read some of the Area 88 Manga and saw what Risaal looked like. For clarity's sake, I'm going to keep Risaal's appearance as it is in this chapter. I apologize in advance to those who have read the manga. In addition, I'm going to keep the spelling of Risaal's name as I present it here instead of the manga spelling of 'Rishaal' or 'Rishaar'. Thank you for reading, now on with the story!_

* * *

><p><strong>Yamato Airlines Boeing 747 approaching Tokyo International Airport<strong>

In the first class cabin of Yamato Airlines Flight 31 heavy* sat the thirty-two year old second prince of the Kingdom of Asran; Risaal Vashtarl as he listened to the announcements coming from the flight deck of the Boeing 747-400 one level above and in front of him. Closing the Toshiba laptop situated on the meal tray in front of him after he'd finished perusing the plethora of aircraft purchase contracts he'd received by email several days ago, Risaal leaned his seat back and closed his eyes for a moment. Taking off his sunglasses to pinch the bridge of his nose in order to subdue the imminent headache threatening to immobilize the young prince for a short time, Risaal let loose an aggravated sigh.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's Note #1:<em>**_ A widebody aircraft (i.e. Boeing's 707, 747, 767, & 777; McDonnell-Douglas's DC-10, and Lockheed's L-1011 Tristar) is known as a 'heavy' aircraft to Air Traffic Controlller's. During a conversation between the crew of any of the above-mentioned aircraft and the control tower or ATC, the ATC crew would refer to the aircraft by its flight number followed by the term heavy. Example:_

_'Air Traffic Controller: Rumbum 23 Heavy, Jackson Tower._

_Rumbum Flt. 23: Rumbum 23 Heavy, go ahead Jackson Tower._

_JAN (airport Identifier for Jackson-Evers International Airport; Jackson, MS.) ATC: Rumbum 23 Heavy, you're cleared to land on _

_Runway 1-6 Right. Weather is good. Visibility Unlimited. General Aviation traffic at your port side for 6 miles. no factor._

_Rumbum Flt. 23: Jackson Tower, Rumbum 23 Heavy copies traffic: Weather is good. Visibility unlimited. GA traffic six miles off my port side. Copy and thanks.'_

_I hope that not so good example clears things up. Now back to the story!_

* * *

><p>"Excuse me your highness are you alright?", questioned the man sitting next to him.<p>

"_Quiet, you fool! Are you trying to give me a reason to execute your dumb ignorant ass when we return home because you couldn't follow orders and keep your mouth shut?_ How many sodding times do I have to_impress _upon you the need to keep my true identity a secret? Are you trying to be the reason this mission fails because you flapped your peasant gums at the wrong time and caused the contacts I am supposed to be meeting to back out of these negotiations?", snapped the prince quietly as he angrily crossed his arms without deigning to look at the sniveling piece of illegitimate cow dung offering up his apologies.

Ignoring the morons' stuttering pleas for clemency and forgiveness, Risaal griped once again why his father, the forsaken Prince Abdael of Asran, sent him to conduct the negotiations for new and advanced fighter aircraft from two companies who preferred not to publicize their dealings with the son of the man leading the rebel forces against the loyalist forces of his younger brother. If it became public knowledge that Risaal was in Japan for these secret negotiations, the United Nations Security Council would order its troops to intervene in the civil war raging between his father Prince Abdael and his uncle King Zak.

"_**Dammed blue-hatters! Always sticking their infernal noses where they do not belong!", **__fumed Risaal as he half-listened to the leader of his protection team quietly berate his dimwitted subordinate._

"Oh how I wish I were back at the controls of my beloved MiG-29!", intoned Risaal as he opened his eyes.

Standing at just a shade over six feet tall with the lean frame befitting an active fighter pilot and weighing in at two hundred and ten pounds, Risaal had often times been compared to famous superstar actors. Though shorter and lighter than his older brother Prince Saki Vashtarl, Risaal garnered the most attention from those of the fairer sex. This image was presently enhanced by the tailored Hugo Boss suit of the finest Egyptian wools in a dark sage green, the soft black Armani socks of the finest Italian silk from a designer who's name he could not pronounce, a soft tan satin necktie, and his black Giorgio Brutini slip-on dress shoes of soft aged leather. Topping off this fine specimen of Asranian manhood was an expensive pair of black framed, deeply tinted and polarized aviator-style wire-frame sunglasses hiding the dark dove grey eyes that had moistened the panties of many beautiful women from around the world.

_** "Except for the one I saw as the most beautiful desert rose. A thousand curses I cast on thee, my brother Saki for turning your back on Father and I to place your loyalty with uncle as well as unconsciously stealing the heart of Cousin Kitori, the only woman I will ever love."**__, raged his inner thoughts as the unwanted image of his beloved Kitori giving Saki her most precious jewel._

Violently shaking his head to obliterate the image of his cousin squirming under the throes of passion in the arms of his brother, Risaal re-closed his eyes and attempted to return to the dream world where Cousin Kitori submitted to his every whim and fantasy.

* * *

><p>Up in the cockpit of the seven-four-seven, retiring senior Yamato Airlines Captain Shigeo Shibukawa was in the familiarly comfortable left seat as he brought the nose around to line up with the runway heading in preparation for landing on what was his last flight as pilot in command. The forty year Yamato veteran pilot was two days from his mandatory retirement from the position he so loved. Yes, President Sugumo was promoting Shigeo higher up in the company but, the sixty-four year old pilot knew he would miss having the thundering power of four Pratt and Whitney engines singing at full song under his command as he flew another Yamato 747 home from overseas by hand-no depending on the crutch of autopilot for him, he was an <em>old school stick and throttle man, dammit!-<em>and skill alone.

Glancing at Yamato Airlines newest 747 captain sitting on the other side of the throttle quadrant in the right seat, Shibukawa had been quite impressed with his burgeoning skill. When he'd boarded the plane in Tel Aviv for his last flight, Shigeo had entered the cockpit in the middle of the crew changeover. The off-going crew (led by a ten year veteran captain whom Shibukawa had disliked when he had tested the man for captain eleven years ago) had timed out; meaning that they had gone over their allotted flight time. The on-coming crew had been waiting in the Yamato crew lounge for their scheduled aircraft (another, newer 747) to arrive for their flights to Europe and North America before returning to Tokyo. When it became readily apparent that, due to several weather delays, Captain Darui and his crew were going to time out two minutes after landing, an emergency call had gone out to headquarters to find a crew to fly the remaining leg of this flight. Before the call had even been returned, the new captain (a junior captain from the United States) had volunteered his crew for the flight.

When asked why, the captain had stated that with the weather delays, the aircraft he was waiting for was gonna be late. Why not have he and his crew fly this leg and let the off-going crew become the relief crew for the delayed seven-four-seven they had been originally scheduled to fly. The permission for the crew swap had came back with the signature and endorsement of President Sugumo in mere seconds and the young crew had jovially taken the long walk down the loading bridge towards the destiny that awaited them.

Arriving in the middle of the changeover Captain Shibukawa had overheard the off-going captain tell the on-coming captain that the autopilot was acting buggy, resigning himself to having to hand fly the bird home instead of enjoying the jumpseat. Shigeo was pleasantly surprised when Captain Simeon said that it would be no problem and he'd hand fly the plane. Intrigued, Shibukawa had joined the pilot on his aircraft inspection and discussed the pilot's decision with him. The pilot had politely blown him off and continued his inspection. In that moment, Shibukawa had felt an immense pride for the future of the company.

Redirecting his attention to the flight controls in his hands as he brought the monster aircraft in for landing, Shigeo let the co-pilot handle all the radio calls from the tower. He'd been surprised and honored when, with an hour left in the flight, the young captain had switched seats with his co-pilot in order to allow Shibukawa the honor of being the pilot in command for the last hour of this flight. Shigeo had been doubly surprised when, after accepting the honor, he'd found out that this particular 747 was the oldest in the Yamato fleet and was due for retirement after this flight. Remembering the day when he, as a brand new Yamato captain (so new that the gold on his four stripe shoulder boards was still shiny) took the controls of a brand new 747-200 and took the first step into a long and successful career.

"Captain Shibukawa, the tower has granted us permission to execute a missed approach and circle around.", came the voice of his co-pilot.

"_What!?_ I never requested permission to execute a missed approach; we're right on the damn numbers for landing!", snapped Shibukawa as he advanced the throttles to increase the thrust to comply with the tower's request.

"Yes sir, I know sir. If the tower had not given us the order to execute the missed approach, it would have been a perfect landing sir. Like a hot knife through butter.", replied the co-pilot.

Not yet used to his-albeit temporary-co-pilot's habit of dropping such pithy sayings into every conversation, Shibukawa was able to catch the smug underlying tone in the co-pilots voice and realized that the co-pilot had requested the missed approach. Grumbling to himself while advanced the throttles and gently pulling back on his control wheel to gain a bit of altitude before beginning his gently banking turn to reattempt his landing. Cutting his eyes to his co-pilot, Shigeo muttered a bit before returning his attention to the situation at hand. Within ten minutes, Captain Shibukawa had the graceful old lady of the skies again descending towards a perfect landing. Forty years of experience showed as Shigeo greased the man landing gear of the aging Boeing widebody on to the concrete runway with barely a hint of tire smoke as the stiff rubber touched the Earth on the 9, 843 foot length of Tokyo International Airport's runway One-Six Right.

Gently easing back the four throttles and disdaining the use of the thrust reversers (Shigeo hated using those damn things. A real pilot should be able to stop his aircraft on a dime using just the wheel brakes), Shibukawa allowed the graceful grand dame of the blue skies to use a little over two thirds of the concrete ribbon to slow down at her own pace. When the magnificent old bird had come to a complete stop, Shigeo waited a couple of heartbeats before giving his throttles a slight nudge to get the old Boeing moving.

"What taxiway were we assigned?", Shibukawa asked his co-pilot as he finished up his post-landing checklist.

"We were originally set to use the Foxtrot 6 taxiway but as we executed our missed approach, I caught the tower giving permission for a puddle jumper to use that taxiway. Let me contact the tower to find out.", replied the young captain.

"Make it quick. I want that answer before we get to the end of the runway. There's a Delta Triple Seven about 25 seconds out and I want to be out of his way when he lands. He's probably fully loaded and will need every inch of this runway to land. Some of those Delta pilots love to come in hot. We don't need a _'Tenerife'*_ here in Tokyo.", commented Shibukawa as he fractionally increased their speed.

His co-pilot didn't answer but Shigeo didn't mind, he knew how busy the right-seater was.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Note 2 – <strong>__The Tenerife comment is in reference to a crash between two fully loaded Boeing 747 aircraft in March of 1977 that killed 583 passengers and crew on the island of Tenerife. _ wiki/Tenerife_airport_disaster

* * *

><p>Seconds later, Shigeo had his aircraft turning off the active runway and on to one of the far taxiways. Curious as to why he was using this distant taxiway instead of one of the taxiways closer to the Yamato Airlines Terminal Buildings and still concentrating on the job at hand, the veteran widebody pilot missed the glance between his co-pilot and flight engineer. If he had noticed the look, Shigeo would've figured out what was coming instantly and not been surprised.<p>

Going through the remaining tasks on their post landing checklists in the time-honored challenge and answer format, Shigeo decided to turn this into a training session and requested that the younger pilot follow through his ground maneuvers on his set of controls. The younger man did so and Shibukawa felt his controls give a sight shudder as the co-pilot lightly grasped his control wheel with his right hand and placed his left atop his senior's hand as he manipulated the throttle quadrant.

As the plane continued moving down the taxiway, neither pilot could know that at that exact moment, President Sugumo's secretary Taeko Yasuda was cursing under her breath as she viewed her personal data assistant to check the status of several responses to the invitations for the party celebrating Captain Shibukawa's retirement from flying and his promotion to the upper echelons of the Yamato Airlines hierarchy. The twenty-eight year old woman had assigned the task of mailing the invitations to one of the junior secretary interns and had given the younger woman temporary access to the captain's files in order to invite some of the pilot's who he'd either trained or flown with. Being quite busy that day, Taeko had forgotten to give the young lady a list of those pilots who were not to be invited even though they had flown with Captain Shibukawa before. Prominently at the top of that list was Satoru Kanzaki, the most reviled name in the history of Yamato Airlines.

"Of all the…_dammit not him!._ How did _**he**_ of all people receive an invitation to the party?", griped Taeko as she read the message from the secretary she had assigned the duty of sending out the invitations.

Knowing that neither Ryoko nor her father wanted former Captain Kanzaki there, Taeko wondered how she was going to break the news to the Sugumo's about the unwanted guest. Clearing the screen of the damaging news, the young woman pinched her news in frustration. She was going to have to chastise the other secretary about her screw-up once they returned to the office after this affair. Turning her attention back to the arriving plane just as it passed between the streams of water being shot from the fire engine water cannons to celebrate the moment.

* * *

><p>Back in the first class section, Risaal was still fending off his ever worsening headache. His subordinates were thankfully quiet although one of them had almost suffered a coronary as the plane passed through shimmering curtains of water celebrating the return of the aircraft and its captain. The stupid fool had thought the plane had caught fire. The leader of his protection team had boxed the man's ears before he could give voice to the fear. Like Risaal, the team leader knew what the water was for. Waiting for the team leader to finish lecturing the younger man, Risaal quietly explained the ceremony to the barely educated moron. Ignoring the man's other questions, the Rebel Prince of Asran returned to his musings and waited for the aircraft to stop.<p>

Ten minutes later, the Asranian entourage rose from their seats and disembarked. Stepping on to the top step of the debarkation stairs, Risaal saw that the flight crew were there speaking with the passengers as they exited the plane. Spotting the one who seemed to have been in command Risaal spoke to the captain and complimented him on his skills.

"Captain, I must say, your landing was easily one of the best I've ever had. Easing this magnificent aircraft to the runway with a barely felt jolt as the main gear touched down then lowering the nose gear down in small increments while slowly retarding the throttles was a feat of genius and superior skill. As a pilot myself, it wouldn't hurt me to learn how to replicate such a feat with the aircraft of my family's company. Though I am curious as to why you used up most of the runway with your deceleration rollout. I believe we could have used less runway if you had deigned to use the thrust reversers.", complimented Risaal suavely.

"Young man, I've been a pilot for over fifty years. When I started flying, there were no such things as thrust reversers. I was trained to reverse the props upon landing. I just took that and applied it to flying jets. I eschew the use of thrust reversers. To me, thrust reversers are a crutch like an autopilot. If you can't fly and land a fully loaded aircraft without using either of those aids, then in my opinion, you don't deserve to wear pilot's wings. From an old pilot to a younger one, I do appreciate the compliments and thank you very much for your kind words.", replied Shigeo as he shook the hand of the younger man and watched as he and his entourage descended the boarding stairs.

Looking back at the lengthy queue of passengers waiting to deplane, Shigeo sighed. He was going to be here a while. Returning the smile to his face, the retiring pilot turned to the next passenger in line.

As the last passenger left his 7-4-7, Shigeo turned and shook hands with his flight crew. Once Captain Simeon, his co-pilot, and the original flight engineer make their way down the stairs to the waiting crowd, Shigeo turned to the cabin crew and thanked them for their exceptional quality of service to the passengers. Accepting the congratulatory hugs and kisses from the stewardesses and the handshakes from the male flight attendants, Shigeo reached down and lifted his travel luggage and Jeppesan flight case with his left hand. Hearing the sound of a cleared throat from behind him, the aging pilot turned and saw the two senior flight attendants standing there. Both women could barely hide the tears as they cried at the knowledge that they would never again fly the vast blue skies as part of his cabin crew.

"There there, my retirement from the flight deck is nothing to cry over. I've been flying these Grand Empresses of the Skies for more than forty years. It's been a long haul for me but I've enjoyed every minute of it; both the good times and the bad. I've known or trained many great and not so great pilots. I've flown through storms in airplanes that were nothing but deathtraps with wings; storms that would make a normal man or woman insane and turn their hair grey. I've flown with good cabin crews and bad ones, dealt with passengers that would scare even the most fearsome of samurai. Life has been good for me all these years. Now, even though I could still outfly any of these youngsters through the worst of the worst with my eyes closed and one hand behind my back it's time for me to let go of the control wheel and step away from the flight deck. A new life awaits me now. Though I am now on the ground, my heart and thoughts will always be with those who fly. Will both of you please do me the honor of walking me through this aircraft one last time before I debark?", Shigeo requested as the two women wiped their eyes.

The veteran flight attendant accepted and together they slipped their arms through his. The three Yamato Airlines veteran turned away from the stairs and slowly walked through the plane trying to recapture and remember some of their youth. Away from the flashing cameras and gathered press, the three old friends reminisced about the travels they'd shared. Every once in awhile, one of the trio would stop at a particular spot and would just stand there for a minute.

After walking down one aisle and up the other for the last time, the two flight attendants stopped the retiring pilot and requested he wait for them and they would leave the airplane that had brought them together for the final time. When the two flight attendants returned, Shigeo was taken aback at their attire. The pair of women, both still attractive (and grandmothers several times over in their own right) had taken off their uniforms and changed into elegant and elaborate kimono's in the colors of Yamato Airlines. When the approached him, the elder of the two placed his captain hat on his head and gave it the rakish tilt from days of old while the other handed Shigeo a classic pair of Ray Ban Aviator sunglasses. When both were satisfied with his appearance, the trio linked arms again and together they stepped out of the old Boeing and on to the top of the debarkation stairs. After they exited the plane, Shigeo released the arms of the flight attendants and closed the open door. Taking a minute to remember the first time he stepped aboard this particular plane, the retiring captain rotated the latch and secured the aircraft before giving it a pat and resting his hand on the cool fuselage.

_**"Once again, you've brought my passengers, crew, and I home across the skies safely, my friend. May your honored retirement from the skies you've ruled for so long be peaceful and rewarding! Thank you for all that you've done and been for me. Though you'll never soar through the stratosphere again, you're spirit lives on in those that follow and may they continue to carry your wishes into the air. Farewell my beloved old friend.", **__Shigeo thought at he removed his hand. _

Turning away from the Mighty Boeing that had carried him all over the world at one time or another, Shigeo Shibukawa and his two flight attendants slowly made their way down the steps. At the bottom of the stairs, Shigeo left his two attendants and performed his final duty at an active captain for Yamato Airlines. Starting from the nose of the aircraft, the veteran pilot did his last post-flight walk around. Even though he along with everyone else knew that this plane would never fly again, Shigeo never shirked his duty and did his walk around the way he had always done it. Back straight, eagle eyes searching for the most miniscule of flaws that would determine if they aircraft was going to leave the ground, hands roaming over the skin of the fuselage feeling the ripples and gently tugging where necessary. Using his small flashlight when necessary to peer into the accessible avionics bays and the wheel wells, Shibukawa made his way back to the nose. Once there, he climbed up on the massive push tug and patted the familiar nose as if telling a co-worker that their job is done and they have done a good job in his eyes. Climbing down from the tug with the assistance of the ground crew, Shigeo saluted his cherished plane and returned to the flight attendants, thankful that the gathered crowd and his flight crew had left him alone in his moment.

Standing at the foot of the stairs with a sad and knowing gaze on his face was the president of Yamato Airlines.

"Don't be sad Captain Shibukawa; though you'll no longer fly you'll still be a most valued employee of Yamato Airlines. Your experiences out in the Yamato Fleet will be important in your new position. Let's go speak with those close to you before meeting the press.", commented President Sugumo.

Shigeo nodded and with his flight attendants made his way through the crowd. Spotting his young co-pilot, the elderly pilot stopped and spoke.

"The days of the old stick and rudder pilots that I started flying with are dying out. The new and technologically savvy pilots of this generation are the future. Yet I am a bit frightened at the abandonment of some of the things my generation took for granted. You captain, have rebuilt the faith I have that some of the old ways are not completely gone. I leave the training of the next generation to you and your contemporaries. Keep some of the old ways alive. Don't let any students of yours say they are obsolete. Though you may have never flown through some of the mighty storms I have, I have faith that when you do, you'll keep the lessons myself and those of my generation have taught you. Keep flying the way you do and someday you'll be here passing on your knowledge to those who will come after you."

"I will, Captain Shibukawa. And anytime you have to fly overseas for the company, give me a call. I'll speak with the scheduler about being your pilot.", returned the younger man with a grin.

Shigeo nodded a minute before turning on and continuing his walk towards the waiting press. Accepting handshakes and back pats from his friends and co-workers as well as fielding questions from the younger generations of pilots, he started to grow nostalgic, remembering the days of his youth. Just before he entered the area set up for the reporters, Shigeo turned to President Sugumo and made a request.

"Mr. President, can you make sure that Captain Simeon receives my old routes? I believe he's the only pilot in the company that could handle those long hauls. There are others, but from my experiences flying with him, he'll be the one who will adapt to it the best."

"Though he is still quite a junior captain, I'll see what I can do. Now let's not keep the press waiting."

Shigeo nodded and stepped in front of the cameras.

* * *

><p>Satoru Kanzaki was not a happy man.<p>

The former Yamato Airlines Captain and President took another sip from his scotch and glared at the gathered crowd in the lavish ballroom from his position on the balcony. He hadn't wanted to come to this shindig celebrating Captain Shibukawa's retirement from the flight deck. But his team of lawyers had insisted he go to congratulate one of the men he truly detested.

"Of all the… why in the hell did I ever agree to come to this thing? Shibukawa never liked me and I could never stand him. Even when I was president of this blasted company I wanted him gone. I knew he would ultimately cause problems but dammit I wasn't expecting him to be the driving force behind the pilots wanting me replaced. Shit! If only that airplane hadn't crashed, I could still have been running this company!", Kanzaki snapped as he whirled around and looked out over the city.

In the wake of the scandal resulting from the grounding of all the Maxwell Company's aircraft that he'd pushed to be adopted by the airline and his wedding to Ryoko being called off because of that damned photographer's meddling, Kanzaki had found out that his planned-for future had abruptly changed. Now it was all he could do to get an interview with some of the smaller airlines. It didn't help that at his trial the evidence he produced that implicated Maxwell was deemed insignificant. Now instead of being the president of a multi-million dollar airline, Satoru Kanzaki was unemployed and had a black cloud over his head.

Finishing his drink and slamming his glass down on the small marble table, Kanzaki checked his watch and decided that it was time for him to leave this purgatory. Ignoring the sidelong looks and angry glares that followed him, Satoru tugged the bottom of his old captain's jacket down and made his way in the direction of the exit. Since he'd already performed his halfway sociable greeting and congratulatory duties to the retiring captain (returning the glares given to him by Ryoko, her adopted daughter Josie, and that nosy bitch Taeko Yasuda) Kanzaki didn't have to worry about stopping to say anything to either of them. He'd already refused to say a word to Shinjo Makoto when the photographer had greeted him as he'd headed out to the balcony.

"Hah, the only thing I could halfway accept was the fact that the bitch had not been comfortable in her dress.", Satoru snickered to himself.

Out in the hallway, the former pilot turned towards the elevator bank. Viciously stabbing the elevators' call button Satoru groaned as he saw that the car would take a minute or so to arrive. Taking a look around the area he spotted several other partygoers who'd come out into this foyer to rest a bit. When the elevator arrived the disgraced former president of Yamato Airlines entered the car and pressed the button for the first floor. Unbuttoning his coat and loosing his tie, Kanzaki turned and sneered at the crowd as the highly polished doors closed and the elevator whisked him away from the travesty. Reaching into his pocket and retrieving his cigarettes, Kanzaki snapped his Zippo open and torched a cigarette to life in complete and utter disregard of the no smoking sign.

Back in the foyer of the ballroom, Risaal Vashtarl turned to the head of security and gave him a stern look. The rude man in the captain's uniform had inadvertently bumped into Risaal as he had exited the room. Reaching into his pocket, the second prince of Asran removed his silk handkerchief and used it to dab at the drops of wine that had spilled on his tuxedo. He and some of his entourage had been invited to the party by a beautiful pink haired woman back at the airport after they had gotten through the crowd on hand for Captain Shibukawa's last flight. Shifting his head to his two secretaries he shook his head to let them know to not worry about the accident. Of course Tai Xian had something to say.

"That inconsiderate boor of a man, did he not realize who he had bumped into? He owes you an apology highness.", spoke the woman with a slight accent.

"Don't worry about my dear Tai Xian. He seemed to have been in a foul mood. Nothing good would have came of it had I decided to make an issue of his clumsiness. I do wonder why he left the party. From his clothes I assume that he was an acquaintance of the honoree but from the anger in his eyes, something must've happened between them. Sayeed, send one of your men down to follow him but impart upon the chosen one to not make any contact. Have him just observe and report. When you get that report, go find out everything you can. I want to know about him. He intrigues me.", said Risaal with his free hand on his chin.

"Yes your highness. It will be done.", replied the security escort.

Risaal watched as the older man reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He knew that two of his men were downstairs and he would send them after the ungrateful cur.

Back in the ballroom, Shinjo Makoto observed as Prince Risaal made his call. Dressed in a conservative black dinner jacket and tuxedo pants, the freelance photographer racked his brain as he tried to remember if he had ever met the mysterious man. Shinjo had been at the airport to cover the retirement story of Yamato Airlines most senior and experienced captain and had spotted the man as he'd debarked from the plane. Something in the man's mannerisms had niggled at Shinjo's subconscious mind. He didn't know what it was that had triggered his mind to lock on to the unknown but there seemed to be something slightly familiar.

At the time Shinjo had shrugged it off and had returned to taking pictures of those gathered at the ceremony ad their reactions as the captain had debarked his plane for the last time. As the impromptu gathering at the airport had slowly broken up to keep the Yamato Terminal active, Shinjo had been approached by Ryoko Sugumo and invited to Captain Shibukawa's retirement ceremony and party at the hotel. However, in order for him to attend, Shinjo had to escort President Sugumo's secretary and Ms. Ryoko's best friend Taeko Yasuda. Makoto had demurred at first but somehow the young heiress (and her even younger adopted daughter) had convinced Shinjo to be Ms. Yasuda's date for the evening.

It would be several hours later when Shinjo realized who the mysterious man reminded him of. However, because he was entwined with a lithesome, energetic, and naked Taeko Yasuda at her great aunt's mansion on the outskirts of Tokyo, Shinjo's mind would soon change the subject. Because her great aunt had thankfully left Taeko and Shinjo the run of the mansion while she was away for a few days, it would be even longer before the secretive 'Sixth Column' organization the older woman was a valued member of realized that Second Prince Risaal Vashtarl had escaped their operatives and was busy making deals to purchase new and advanced aircraft for the Asranian Rebels. By the time the group received that information, the second prince would have already left Tokyo to return to Asran. And with him was a new employee who would ultimately screw up their best laid plans.

* * *

><p><em><strong>And with that, dear readers, I end Chapter Three of 'Airbats 88'. Reviews, critiques, criticisms, and flames will be read and treated in their appropriate manner. I do hope you enjoyed this continuing aerial journey. Once again I must give my thanks to al of you readers who have stuck with me for this long. Yes I know I have been absent lately and have not updated many of my stories but please bear with me for bit longer. I can say that your continued patience will be rewarded. (Although there are those fans of another story of mine who are starting to get on my last danged nerve. They know who they are and I'm not one to name names even if they do denigrate me. I am above that and was raised to not let negative thoughts against me faze me none.)<strong>_

_**With all that said, I want to give great thanks to my good author-friend F-14 Tomcat Lover. Not only does he know what was the best damn fighter in the world for the past thirty plus years was but he is a fellow Robotech fan and-like me-was temporarily persona non grata at the RT website (sorry mi amigo, the strong 'discussion' we had that led us to that all those years ago was my fault.:)).**_

_**Now that all the glad-handing and praises have been passed out, I must say that I really did not like the way I ended this chapter. I had a helluva lot more planned to add before ending the chapter, including the face to face meeting of Risaal and Satoru. I even had a scene with the secret organization mentioned at the start of the story held another one of their meetings. I guess I'll have to save that for a flashback in a future chapter. In the end, I hope that this chapter meets with the approval of you, the readers who have favorited this story and are following it to its future conclusion.**_

_**Once again,. I thank you for your continuing patience with this errant writer and plead for your forgiveness. Thank you for your appreciation! **_

_**KW**_

_**Knightewolfe's Lair**_

_**7/13**_


End file.
